The Residing Void
by Fallen Crest
Summary: With her memories sealed and nowhere to go, Sakura finds herself in Konoha. As she grows, she grows attached to the village and her friends, but no matter how hard she tries, she can't forget the void residing in her from her memory lost or the name Sasori. And with that, she is determined to find the truth, even if it means abandoning all she has grown to love in her new village.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**A/N: So I told myself I would never read Naruto fanfiction or write one because it wasn't something that interested me. But I was bored one day and needed to read something, but had nothing so I looked at it. And I fell in love with so many stories and it gave me ideas so I had to write mine. I'm telling you this so you realize I am trying, but writing Naruto fanfics might be a bit difficult for me. So let me know if I mess up with something. **

**The Residing Void **

**Chapter 1**

"Why?"

That one question traveled on the wind over to where the older of the two was standing at the edge of the forest.

Brown eyes stared into scared green eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" The younger one shouted as the wind blew her long pink hair in her face. It was annoying, but she gave it no notice as she continued to stare at her older brother in fear and confusion.

Instead of replying, the older one walked closer to his little sister, who backed away from him. He smirked. Why she did such a pointless action, he didn't know. She couldn't escape from him. She was eight and he was eighteen. He was much faster then her and could easily catch her if she tried to run.

When her back hit the tree, the girl looked away from the redhead in front of her. He kneeled down in front of her and gently took some of her long hair in his hand to gently rub it. "I was always curious as to how you got pink hair from our parents. If it wasn't for your green eyes that are so much like father's, I would have thought you were adopted."

Hearing his soft voice, much different from the rough voice she heard earlier, the girl looked at her older brother again. She was only about half his height. His short hair was red, the same shade as their father's, while his eyes were wide and brown, just like their mother's. His clothes consisted of shinobi clothes, not that they could be seen under the black robe he was wearing. Yes, her precious older brother was a ninja, a ninja that just abandoned his village after kidnapping her and the third Kazekage. She may still be training to be a ninja, but she knew for certain this made him a rouge ninja. Even so, he was smiling at her now, despite knowing all that.

"I want to go back home, back to Granny Chiyo." She pleaded.

"If you're ever going to be a ninja, don't plead." He scolded.

"How can I be a ninja when you took me from home?" She snapped back.

He leaned in closer to her, making her flinch back when his warm breath hit her. "You know too much. You saw me take the Kazekage. I can't let you go back there, not with that knowledge. I can't leave a trail." He whispered, making her shake in fear.

"Sasori-nii?" She whispered fearfully. What was he going to do to her? It's not like she wanted to see her big brother kidnap the Kazekage. She was just running around the village in the middle of the night for her own training when she noticed it. "Are you going to kill me?"

Sasori chuckled as he let his hand trail over his sister's cheek gently. "Of course not, dear sister. Why do that when I can just seal your memories?"

She felt her heart stop for a moment as her bright green eyes widened in fear. Seal her memories? No! She didn't want that. Forgetting just meant losing a part of her. It would make her feel empty. She knew because she got a small case of amnesia when she was younger because of an accident. She never wanted to deal with the pain of not knowing again!

"No!" She shouted and shoved her brother away from her. Since he was kneeling, the push caused him to topple in surprise, though he never lost his smirk as he watched her run off into the forest. His fingers glowed blue as chakra strings shot out towards his sister. He heard her gasp, then scream as he yanked her back to him. She was swung into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her small form.

"Please nii-san!" The girl shouted, struggling in his arms. "Please let me go! I won't tell anyone ever! I swear!"

Using one of his hands, he covered her mouth. "Shh, don't worry, my dear Sakura." Sasori whispered in her ear as tears strung the girl's eyes. "It won't hurt much."

A scream echoed around the forest, but no one was there to hear it.

**A/N: Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Inner"**

**The Residing Void**

**Chapter 2**

In the middle of the forest a little girl was sitting on her knees looking around in confusion, unaware of the eyes trained on her. Her long pink hair rested gently on her shoulders while bright green eyes kept looking at everything in the forest. She was dressed in dark blue pants that stopped right above her knees and a red shirt with long sleeves with a few cuts in them above her elbow that were part of the design. On her legs, she wore weapon pouches and back ninja sandals.

Sakura glanced down at her wrist where a silver bracelet was locked around her wrist. Her name was engraved in it with a cherry blossom next to it. Her older brother had gotten it for her when she first entered the ninja academy. It was one of the few times he actually ever gotten her something. Usually Granny Chiyo only gave her gifts like that.

As that name passed through her mind, Sakura had to blinked. "Granny who?" She whispered to herself. To her horror the more she tried to remember just who Granny Chiyo was to her, the more she forgot just who the woman was. To double that horror, she looked at her bracelet again and just couldn't recall where the thing came from. Tiny hands curled into her hair in anger and fear. Please, oh please not let it be amnesia again! She didn't want to go through the horror of not knowing anything again!

"Granny…Granny….Gra–" Sakura paused in her mumbling as her eyes glazed over for a moment. After about a minute, the glazed looked passed and her hands dropped limply to her side once more. She looked around the forest again in confusion. "Where am I?"

In the trees surrounding the one the girl was at, the ninjas watching her frowned in confusion. They had come across the girl on their way back to the village. It was a strange thing to see an unconscious girl in the middle of the forest without any signs of a struggle nearby. Before they could act on it, the girl started to wake up and the three hid in the trees to see what she would do.

"What do you think?" The ninja with shoulder length brown hair asked around the senbon in his mouth.

"Looks like a type of memory jutsu has been placed on her." His comrade replied. The comrade had silver hair and one dark eye showing as his forehead protector was tilted to cover his left eye, while the rest of his face was covered by a mask.

"A memory jutsu? Those are hard to break." The third member said. He had short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and a beard. Like his comrades, he too wore a headband and the standard ninja uniform.

Without replying, the silver haired one jumped from the trees and landed in front of the confused girl. "Yo." He greeted.

The girl stared at him for a moment before screaming and falling backwards. Wide green eyes stared at the ninja in surprise, but the man just smiled, or at least she thought he did, while his comrades jumped down next to him. They both stared at their kneeling comrade with deadpanned stares. "Is that how you treat lost little girls? Scare them?" The one with a senbon asked sarcastically.

"Well, if she wants to be a ninja, she has to get used to surprises and not scream at them." The silver haired one replied, glancing lazily at his teammate.

Sakura blinked at them. "Um, how'd you know I wanted to be a ninja?" She asked confused. Sure, she wanted to be one. For some reason it was one of the thoughts not leaving her mind.

Chuckling, the man pointed at her legs. "Your weapon pouches and sandals. They are a good give away."

Instead of blushing, Sakura smiled. "Makes sense." She looked at their headbands and frowned. "You guys are ninjas for the Village Hidden in the Leaves?" She looked around the forest once more. "Is that where I'm from? I'm sorry, but my memories seem to be slipping away."

The ninja with the senbon kneeled and smiled softly at the girl. "Is there anything you do remember?"

"Um," Sakura looked at the sky thoughtfully. "Well, when I try to remember something, it slips away farther and farther till I can't remember it." She blinked then clapped her hands. "Oh, but there is one thing I know." Sadness clouded her eyes. "Well, I know a name, but I don't know the person appearance or what it has to do with me. It's Sasori."

"Sasori? That's a strange name. What is yours?"

Sakura looked at the men with a smirk. "You know, it is rude to ask for someone's name without first giving your name."

The silver haired one chuckled. "Our apologies, little one. My name is Kakashi Hatake."

"Genma Shiranui." The one with the senbon introduced with a mocking half bow, making Sakura chuckle.

"Asuma Sarutobi." Asuma greeted. "And as you've already realized, we are ninja from Konoha."

Sakura nodded at each of them, smiling brightly. "I am Sakura. I apologize, but my last name has slipped from my mind."

"Sakura?" All three glanced at her pink hair.

"It's a fitting name for such a cute little girl." Genma said with a smile as he ruffled the girl's hair. His movement caused the girl's hair to shift and he managed to catch a glimpse of a black mark on the back of her neck, which caused him to frown. "Sakura, can I see the back of your neck?"

The girl gave him a surprised look, but nodded and shifted around so her back was to the three. She pushed all her hair over her shoulder so they could see her neck. Resting on the back of her neck was a kanji that meant memory. It was tattooed into her skin in black with a faint blue color surrounding each line. If she had been conscious for such a seal, it must have been extremely painful.

"Is something wrong?" Sakura asked worriedly when she felt a hand gently touch her neck. When the hand touched her neck, it caused her to flinch. For whatever reason, sudden pain had just flared through her body. The pain wasn't too bad, but it was enough to grab her attention.

Sighing, Asuma nodded. "It seems our earlier assumptions were correct. You have a memory seal on you."

"Way to be blunt about it." Genma said.

Asuma shrugged. "No reason to hide it by beating around the bush."

"A memory seal?" Sakura echoed fearfully. She didn't know why, but the idea of not having her memories really scared her and left her empty. She shivered and turned to face them fully. "Can you please remove it?"

Asuma gave her sad smile. "Sorry, but from the looks of it, it seems that the seal cannot be removed by us."

"What? Why?" Sakura asked, eyes widening in shock.

"Shh, calm down." Kakashi said, eye crinkling in a smile at her. "This is a very difficult memory seal that takes a very powerful ninja to do. The person infuses his chakra into the seal so only he can remove it. Though there have been some cases where the will of the person it is put on is so strong that just seeing things from his or her pass can cause the seal to crack a bit to start to undo it."

"Sheer will." Sakura whispered to herself.

Genma frowned. "That is just a guess though. We have to get it fully checked out to see if we are correct in the type of seal it is."

Sakura nodded. "So you're taking me back to your village?"

"Yep." Genma replied with a grin. "You'll really like it. It is a really happy place. We are only a few miles from it."

"Okay." Sakura said, grinning. She couldn't wait to see this village. It was curiosity that perked her interest. She wondered how it compared to her home vill– Her grin slipped from her face as an empty feeling entered her heart. What did her home village look like? And what about her family? Surely they would be really worried about her with the sudden vanishing act. Why would someone do this to her? Tears started to fill her eyes. She felt so empty inside that it hurt. It hurt that a part of her was missing. It felt like she wasn't complete without her memories.

"Sakura," Kakashi said, patting the girl on the head. "It'll be alright."

"No, it won't." Sakura cried, kneading her fists into her eyes to get the tears to stop. "I feel so hurt without my memories. Something has torn me apart and only left half of me behind to suffer."

Kakashi smiled sadly, though he was the only one to know that. "Then how about we fill that void at least a bit to get the suffering to lessen some?"

Green eyes glanced up curiously. Lessen the pain raging inside of her? "H-how…how do we do that?"

"By making new memories and friends. It won't make the void disappear completely, but it will lessen the fear and loneliness." Kakashi said in a stage whisper like he was sharing a big secret.

Sakura giggled.

"There it is." Kakashi teased. "Don't ever lose your smile." He turned around. "Here, climb on my back."

Wrapping her arms around his neck and legs around his chest, Sakura rested her head gently down his shoulder as he took off into the trees with his comrades following. Genma looked at her and smiled, making her smile tiredly back. For some reason, she was so tired, even though she just woke up not that long ago. Without meaning to, she felt her eyes shut and she began to doze off.

The next time her eyes flew open, she found herself flying through the air. Gasping, her arms tightened around the only support she had, causing the man holding her to chuckle as he landed on a roof. "Have a nice nap?" He asked as he ran across the roof.

Blushing, Sakura rested her head against his shoulder. "Yeah." Hearing laughter, she pushed herself slightly off of Kakashi's chest to glance down at the road to see some kids laughing, not noticing that Kakashi slowed down a bit for her sake. The kids pushed a blond haired down, said something to him that made a sad look enter his eyes, then they ran off, leaving the boy on the ground. Seeing such bullying made Sakura growl to herself. How can anyone treat someone like that?

Kakashi glanced back at her at the noise, but didn't ask as he jumped to the next roof, which made the girl go back to holding onto him tightly.

Soon enough, the three ninja plus a little girl landed outside the Hokage building. When they move to walk inside, Sakura tugged at Kakashi's vest. "Can you let me down now?" She asked.

Kakashi nodded and kneeled down so Sakura could jump off.

"Where are we going?"

"To visit the Hokage." Kakashi explained.

"Ah," Sakura said as a nervous looked entered her eyes. "Is he nice?"

Genma laughed. "No worries, Sakura. He is a nice man."

Sakura nodded and smiled as she followed the three men to see their Hokage. She glanced around at everything curiously, so curiously that if it wasn't for Kakashi holding her hand she probably would have gotten lost by now.

Barely a few minutes later, Asuma was knocking on a door and after a "Come in" sounded, he opened the door and led the way for the others to come in. Shyly, Sakura hid a bit behind Kakashi's leg in the hope of going unnoticed. She glanced out slightly to see an old man with grey hair and wearing a strange red and white hat sitting behind a desk with quite a bit of paperwork in front of him.

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi greeted.

Sarutobi smiled when he noticed pink poking out from behind Kakashi. "Welcome back. And who do you have with you?"

Sakura blinked at him before ducking behind Kakashi again. The ninja sighed and tugged on the girl's hand to get her to stand in front of him. "Go ahead and introduce yourself."

"Um," Sakura glanced at the leader unsurely. "My name is Sakura. Um," She glanced at the three ninjas, and Genma nodded for her to continue. "I was found in the forest. I don't really recall anything because your ninja think I have a memory seal on me."

"A memory seal?" Sarutobi said with a frown. "Such a horrible thing to put on someone, especially one so young."

Sakura blinked before smiling. "Oh, I do remember a name: Sasori, but I don't recall what he looks like or who he is to me."

"Hmm," Sarutobi smiled. "Do you remember what he is like? Personality wise?"

With a smile, Sakura opened her mouth to reply. "He is ve–" Her eyes glazed over for a moment then went back to normal. She blinked and frowned as she glanced around. "That was strange."

"Do you still remember parts of your past?" Sarutobi asked.

"Oh, yes, I guess so, but when I try to recall them they fade away. Only Sasori's name hasn't faded, at least yet. Everything else is slowly fading away, but if I think about it, it disappears much faster. So, I guess," Sakura paused with a frown. "They are there, but leaving me without me realizing it?"

Sarutobi sighed. "Well, my dear, how about I have someone check you over? Then we can go from there to see what we can do."

Sakura nodded her head in agreement. She really hoped the ninjas were wrong and they could get rid of this memory seal. She really wanted to know everything she possibly could. This empty void was really hurting with the more she began to forget about home. "That would be nice, sir."

Smiling, Sarutobi nodded. "Now, Sakura, could you wait in the hallway while I talk to the others?"

"Yes sir." Sakura gave a small bow before leaving the room. She understood that she wasn't to hear their mission report. Not only was she not a ninja, but it was likely she was not even from this village. She had no right to listen so she stood by the door outside the hall, leaning against the wall as she waited.

It wasn't that long of a wait, but it was still boring to Sakura as she couldn't go around and explore. That would just get her in trouble if she disappeared and she didn't want to do that when she only arrived in this village. It would be like an invasion of privacy. The only interesting thing that happened was when a blond haired ninja showed up shortly after and went into the office after a quick knock on the door. He gave her a glance before heading inside and leaving her to her boredom. So she had a boring thirty minute wait before the door open and Genma came out and smiled at her.

"Hokage-sama has called Inoichi Yamanaka here to look over you to see your memories, okay?" He asked.

Sakura nodded and followed the man back into the office to see the blond haired man from earlier.

"Sakura, this is Inoichi Yamanaka, he is going to take a look at your mind and the seal." Sarutobi explained.

Sakura nodded and glanced at the man then at the chair that was placed in the center of the office. Genma nodded at the chair. Taking the message, she sat down in the chair as the man came out of the corner.

"Hello Sakura." Inoichi greeted calmly.

"So," Sakura drawled nervously. "How does this work?"

The man smiled. "Just relax while I enter your mind. It will be done before you know it."

Sakura's hands gripped the edges of the chair tightly as the man put a hand to her head. She closed her eyes, but that was all she remembered as she became rigid in her sit.

Inoichi opened his own eyes once he was inside of Sakura's mind. In front of him was a long hallway with only one door at the very end of it. As he approached the door, he noticed the kanji for memory carved on it in blue. When he was close to it, he felt the power leaking from the seal on the door. _'Whoever did this must be a strong person if this chakra is anything to go by.' _He thought as he reached out a hand to touch the door. The moment his hand touched it, an earsplitting scream met his ears and electricity shot through his hand and up to his shoulder.

"**GET OUT! IT HURTS!"**

***Sasori***

A certain redhead paused in his traveling and kneeled on the tree he had just landed on when a familiar feeling pricked at his senses. His eyes closed as he spread his senses back to Konoha where he had put his sister. Because of the chakra he put in the seal on her he would be able to find her quite easily. Though, that was not his goal at the moment.

Instead he focused on the chakra inside his sister's seal. Once he felt his chakra inside of her, he manipulated it a bit before he found himself able to enter her mind. Once he was inside, he opened his eyes and found a blond haired man standing in front of that door that sealed all of Sakura's memories. Seeing this, he had to smirk. _'So, there are already examining her seal. They are doing this faster than expected. But, I cannot allow anyone to mess with my seal.'_

When the man reached out to touch the door, Sasori's smirk widened. It was time the Konoha ninjas learned just what would happen when they tried to mess with his seal.

An earsplitting scream met his ears. Sasori recognized the feminine scream from when he put the seal on her, but paid it no mind as he watched the ninja get electrocuted by his chakra. As he began to feel satisfaction about the pain he caused this man, something he did not expect happened.

"**GET OUT! IT HURTS!"**

'_What is this?' _Sasori narrowed his eyes as he suddenly felt a force push on him. Without his consent, he felt himself pushed out of his sister's mind and back into his body miles away from the village.

Sasori's eyes opened, and they did not look pleased. _'What was that? That voice sounded like Sakura, but it should not be possible for her to push me out of her mind. Did I miss something?' _

The puppet master stood up with a frown as he took off once more. His sister, who was still only training to be a ninja, managed to push him, a S-rank ninja, out of her mind so easily. It could have just been sheer luck or maybe there was something more to her than he realized. No matter, he would just have to keep a closer eye on this and see where it led.

***Konoha***

Inoichi felt a powerful push against him and suddenly found himself in the Hokage's office once more in front of a screaming girl who had blood trailing down her neck. He quickly withdrew his hand and the girl fell out of the chair, but before she hit the ground, Genma managed to catch her.

Inoichi glanced at his hand to see it charred, even though he had only entered the girl with his soul. What kind of seal did this? He turned to Sarutobi with a dark frown. "It is definitely a chakra infused seal. I couldn't get anywhere near her memoires. The moment I tried," he nodded at the girl who was now gasping for air and holding her neck tightly. "That happened and I got electrocuted by the chakra."

"Electrocuted by chakra?" Asuma said with a frown. He has never heard of such a thing, unless someone was using elemental chakra.

"There is nothing you can do about it?" Sarutobi asked, shooting a glance at the girl who was sitting in Genma's lap with wide eyes and gripping her bloody neck.

The man shook his head. "Nothing. Only the person who put it on her could possibly remove this. Just seeing it for a few seconds told me how dangerous it is, especially with the amount of chakra inside the seal. It could seriously harm her and the person trying to remove it."

Sakura stared at the man with wide eyes. Just who put such a crazy, dangerous thing on her? And why? Why would she need such a seal on her in the first place?

Groaning she rubbed her head. That gave her a massive headache. No one said anything about getting a headache from that!

"But why is she bleeding?" Genma asked worriedly as he looked down at the girl's neck as she had it tilted in a way that he could fully see the seal and the blood leaking out of the mark.

"Perhaps it is a warning to not interfere." Sarutobi suggested with a frown. "Any attempt to mess with the seal will cause damage."

Inoichi rubbed his burnt hand. "That may be true. I only touched it for a second and this is the result. Who knows what could happen if we tried any more than this?"

Sakura looked at the man with pain filled eyes. His arm looked to be completely burnt from hand to shoulder because of her. It was all because of her that someone got hurt. Sure, she was in a bit of pain from that experience, but it had to be nothing compared to what he was feeling. And yet, he didn't show any pain. He was completely hiding it, that she was sure of. Why was this happening? What did the person who did this hope to accomplish?

"Perhaps it is time for you two to head to the hospital?" Sarutobi suggesting, breaking Sakura from her thoughts.

"Um," Sakura murmured, glancing up at the leader.

"And when you are done, you may return here so we can make some arrangements for you, Sakura." Sarutobi added, making the girl smile in thanks.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Sakura replied before Genma was suddenly holding her in his arms.

"I'll take her." Genma told his comrades.

Not long later, after flying through the village to the hospital, Sakura found herself resting on a bed with hands glowing green tracing over her neck. At first she had twisted her head around to see the strange color chakra, but she got scolded for moving around so she had to stop. The chakra was so warm and soothing as it eased the pain in her neck and got the bleeding to stop. She didn't recall ever feeling something like this. It was amazing.

When her doctor was done, the serious look disappeared as he stepped back to allow her to sit up. "Are you that interested in medical ninjutsu?" He asked.

Blushing, Sakura ducked her head. "Sorry, I've never seen anything like it before and it felt nice. It's called medical ninjutsu?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, surely you have heard of medical ninjas?"

"There are medical ninjas?" Sakura asked, mostly to herself.

The doctor laughed. "If you are that interested, perhaps you should look into it," He glanced down at his file. "Ms. Sakura. There is not that much information here, but that is to be expected with such a seal on you. Let's see about basic personal information. Do you know your age?"

A thoughtful look passed over Sakura's face for a moment before she grinned and said, "Eight. I'm eight and my birthday is March 28th!"

The doctor nodded. "Very good. Do you know anything else? Like what you want to be?"

"A ninja!" Sakura declared automatically.

The doctor chuckled. "You seem very happy for someone who just lost her memory."

Sakura deflated for a moment before a determined look entered her eyes. "I will become strong and find the person who did this to me to get them to remove the seal. Until then, I will live my life. I may not have memories, but as Kakashi-san said, I can fill that void with new memories and friends while I search for my family and who I am. If I am depressed by it, I will just feel worse inside. I don't like that feeling."

The doctor looked at her in surprise, but smiled. "That is such a mature, excellent response for one so young." He closed the file. "Well, if you want to become a ninja, I suppose I should let you get back to the Hokage so you can make your declaration to him."

Sakura smiled nervously. Oh, right, she wasn't from this village so she needed permission before she could get into the academy. But she would do it. She would make sure she was allowed into the academy!

**A/N: I can't remember how they greet the third hokage. It's been so long since I've seen the beginning of the series. So if I called him wrong, tell me. **

**Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Inner"**

**The Residing Void**

**Chapter 3**

Feet shuffling nervously, Sakura glanced at the door in front of her as she waited for her new sensei to call in. Surprisingly, Hokage Sarutobi had agreed easily to letting her join the academy. He seemed to understand that she really needed to do this. She couldn't just sit by and accept what was done to her. She would fight for what she wanted.

To help her along, Sarutobi placed her in the care of another ninja, Kurenai. He thought it best for her to stay with a female. Sakura found out that the woman specialized in Genjutsu. She agreed to help Sakura with it a bit when she could. But Kurenai's apartment was mostly a place for her to live while here since the woman did missions often so the girl might have to fend for herself some days, but Sakura didn't mind that much.

On the second day after she met the woman, Kurenai even took her shopping for some new clothes, casual and clothes for training. Which is why Sakura was now dressed in a new outfit. She wore a fishnet shirt with the sleeves of it stopping a few inches before her elbows. On top of that was a green shirt the same color of her eyes that didn't have sleeves. She wore black shorts with her weapon pouches on her right side again and her usual black ninja sandals. Her long pink hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her bangs were style to cover her forehead going from left to right.

"You can come in now, Sakura!"

Hearing Iruka-sensei's voice drove Sakura back to the present and she pushed opened the door. She stepped in carefully, eyes scanning over the students that were watching her as she approached her sensei. As she was looking at the students, a boy with blond hair and blue eyes jumped out to her. He was the one she saw getting picked on yesterday!

"Why don't you introduce yourself?" Iruka suggested when she stopped next to him. "Your likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams?"

Smiling, Sakura turned back to the students. "Hello. My name is Sakura. I do not have a last name. I'm not sure of what my hobbies are or my likes and dislikes. I do not really have a dream that I recall either, but I do have a goal! And that is to be a strong ninja so I can one day find the man who put a memory seal on me and beat his ass into the ground so he will release me from it!"

The students stared at her at her declaration. They looked mostly surprised at the fact that she had a memory seal on her, but some smirked at her declaration. Iruka sweat dropped. He had been told about the memory seal beforehand, but he hadn't expected such a response to it or for her to reveal it to the class.

"That is good, Sakura." Iruka said.

Sakura nodded before a glare set on her face. "By the way, the seal is the black mark on the back of my neck so don't ask about what that is."

Iruka shook his head. This girl seemed to have quite the personality. "Alright, Sakura, you may sit next to Naruto."

The girl nodded, and seeing as the blonde haired boy was the only one with an empty seat next to him, assumed that he was the person she was looking for so she bounded up the steps to him. She plopped down in the seat next to him and immediately held out a hand to him. "Hi, I'm guessing you are Naruto?"

The boy looked surprised for a moment before he took her hand. "Yes, I am. Hello Sakura-chan." He greeted with a goofy grin with a curious look in his eyes. "Are you from this village? I don't remember ever seeing a pink haired girl before."

Sakura blushed. "I don't think so, Naruto. I don't remember the village I'm from."

"Aww, I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." Naruto said sadly.

Sakura just shrugged.

Naruto's eyes lit up. "I know. Why don't I show you around the village after class?"

Sakura smiled. "Well, Kurenai-san showed me a bit of it, so I guess you can show me the rest."

Naruto nodded with a grin. He was confused as to who Kurenai was, but didn't really care as Sakura actually accepted his offer instead of pushing him away!

The first day of classes left Sakura feeling pretty lost. The physical activities she noticed that she did really well in. It seemed her body did not forget the motions from her training before the memory seal. But her classes about the history of the Hidden Village in the Leaves needed a lot of work. She knew absolutely nothing about this village. Perhaps she should ask one of her classmates for help. She thought about asking Naruto, but noticed that he didn't pay attention at all.

"A tutor?" Naruto echoed when Sakura asked him about it during lunch. "I can help you."

"On the history of the village." Sakura deadpanned and a look of horror passed over Naruto's face.

"Oh, Kami, no!" He cried. "If you want to know who to go to for such help then I suggest asking one of the girls, probably Ino."

Sakura blinked. "Who is Ino?"

"I forgot you were new." Naruto said. "She's in our class, long blond hair, blue eyes, and dressed in purple. I don't know where she is during lunch though."

Sakura sighed and put her bento aside. "It's alright. I guess I can try to catch her after class."

Naruto nodded and went back to stuffing his face.

So that day, Sakura located the girl dressed in purple and ran up to her as she was leaving the classroom. "Hey! You're Ino, right?" She called to get the girl to stop.

Ino froze in her step and turned to the pink haired girl. "Sakura, right? How'd you know my name?"

Smiling, Sakura gave the girl a bow. "Naruto told me your name when I asked him who I should ask to be my tutor on the history of your village. He said you would have the best knowledge of who could help me the most."

"A tutor?" Ino said with a smile. "You must be so lost if you already need one. Sure, I know a bunch of smart guys."

Sakura nodded and stood up straight. "Thank you, Ino."

"Right, the smartest people in our class are Sasuke Uchiha and Shikamaru Nara." Ino said in a matter of fact tone. "In terms of strengths, Sasuke is strongest which makes him number one in our class."

"Smart and strong," Sakura whistled. "He must train a lot."

Ino grinned. "I wouldn't be surprised. He is really handsome as well!"

Sakura sweat dropped at the loving tone that entered Ino's voice. "What about Shikamaru?"

Blinking, Ino scoffed. "Him? He is so lazy and always sleeps in class. How he can be number two in our class I will never understand."

"So who should I ask?" Sakura asked.

"No doubt, Shikamaru." Ino said immediately.

Sakura blinked. "I would have thought you would say Sasuke."

Laughing, Ino shook her head. "Oh, you have much to learn, my dear Sakura."

'_My dear Sakura.'_

Confusion flickered into Sakura's eyes at that voice echoing in her mind. It sounded so familiar, but she couldn't place where she heard it from. A frown marred her face. Did that mean it was something else she had forgotten? It sounded like a term of endearment, and she couldn't even remember who said it to her and that made her feel horrible. She was hurting someone who cared for her by not remembering the person and she was hurting herself because she felt so empty and confused because she didn't know.

"Sakura, is something wrong?" Ino asked worriedly.

Shaking the worries from her mind, Sakura smiled. "It's nothing, Ino. What were you saying?"

The blond still looked unsure, but continued anyway. "Well, all the girls love Sasuke. If you approach him to ask for tutoring and he says yes, you will earn the scorn of all the girls. We still have a few years here. You don't want to deal with all their hatred and angry for that long. Shikamaru would be the best option if you want to survive."

Sakura smirked. "Or you are just trying to keep me away from the boy you love."

Ino smirked back. "Maybe it's both."

"So where is this Shikamaru?" Sakura asked.

Ino pointed at the top row of desks. "Still sleeping."

Sakura sweat dropped. "It's the middle of the afternoon."

Ino shrugged. "Well, good luck. I have to go."

"Thanks." Sakura said and bounded back up the stairs to the top desk. She stopped in front of his desk and kneeled down so she was in front of his sleeping face. "Shikamaru-kun?" When the boy made no indication of having heard her, she sighed and poked his forehead. "Shikamaru-kun? *poke*…Shikamaru-kun…*poke*…Shikamaru-kun." She glared at the sleeping boy. So much for being nice. "For the love of….SHIKA-KUN, GET UP NOW!"

Naruto, who was waiting for her, stared at her in shock before bursting out laughing at the name.

Shikamaru shot up in his seat, holding his ringing ears. "Geez, woman, what did you do that for?"

Smiling innocently, Sakura stood up. "I needed to ask you something but you weren't waking up."

"Humph," Shikamaru grumbled and rested his chin in his upturned palm. "Well what is it?"

"Could you please tutor me in the history of the village?" Sakura pleaded, putting her hands together in front of her as if praying. "I'm really lost."

"Sounds troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled.

"Please, please, please tutor me." Sakura begged. "Ino said the choice was between you and Sasuke. I don't want to be mauled by his rabid fangirls. Please save me!"

Shikamaru smirked in amusement. "Rabid fangirls? Well, I guess I can't let my new classmate suffer such a fate so early on."

"Oh, thank you, Shika-kun!" Sakura cheered.

"Don't call me that. Want to start today?" Shikamaru asked.

"Nope. Naruto said he would show me around the village today. How about tomorrow?" Sakura asked, smiling brightly.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled. "Alright."

Nodding, Sakura thanked him once more before bounding over to the waiting Naruto.

"Bout time." Naruto said with a grin at her.

"So where are you going to take me?" Sakura asked cheerfully.

Grinning, Naruto took her hand in his and pulled her from the classroom.

With a hyperactive boy as her guide, Sakura was forced to run all over the village. It seemed Naruto was so excited to show her around because they had to keep backtracking to see things that he ran passed in his excitement. Sakura couldn't say she hated it. It was probably the most fun tour she ever had.

Naruto was really goofy too, which made it even more fun. But as they ran around, she noticed more people shooting dirty glares at Naruto, which confused her. She saw him getting picked on by kids, but why were the adults also being nasty to Naruto? It didn't make any sense to her so when they reached a park, she plopped down on one of the swings. Grinning, Naruto did the same, not noticing the frown that Sakura was wearing.

"Hey Naruto," Sakura said a bit hesitantly.

Naruto looked up, grin dropping when he saw the serious look adorning Sakura's face. "What's wrong, Sakura? Are you not having fun?"

Sakura shook her head. "It's not that, Naruto. I was just wondering why everyone was glaring darkly at you and mumbling bad things about you when they saw you. I noticed kids mocking you yesterday too."

"Oh." Immediately a sad look entered Naruto's eyes, and Sakura was starting to curse her curiosity if it was going to hurt her friend like this.

"S-sorry, you do–"

Naruto shook his head. "You should know." He sighed and kicked at the sand under his feet. "Everyone in the village hates me, except for Iruka-sensei, the old man, Teuchi, and Ayame."

Sakura blinked, confused. "But why? Did you do something wrong?"

"I don't know." Naruto shrugged, staring at the ground sadly. "I don't think I did. Ever since I can remember, they have always shunned me and told the kids to stay away from me."

"That's not right!" Sakura shouted angrily as she flew off her swing. When her friend just shrugged and continued to stare at the ground, she growled and grabbed the chains of Naruto's swing and shook them before pausing. Anger wasn't going to help this. Naruto was already upset at being an outcast. She didn't need to push him to explain when he said he didn't understand. "Naruto, are you okay?"

Hearing Sakura's voice turn soft and gentle, Naruto glanced up at her. Upon noticing how close her face was to his, he blushed. "Y-yeah, I'm fine, Sakura-chan."

Sakura nodded, giving her friend a small smile. "You know, Naruto, I don't hate you. You are really fun and nice. I won't listen to those people."

Naruto blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah, so add me to your list of people who don't hate ya!" Sakura declared before jumping away from her friend. "And we'll make that list even bigger, okay?"

Naruto blinked in confusion. "How? No one likes me?"

Sakura shrugged. "Our classmates didn't seem to treat you that badly. Well, I noticed some of them glaring in hatred at you, but not all of them did. Don't you talk to any of them?"

"Not really. I mean, I skip class with Kiba, Chōji, and Shikamaru sometimes and we hang out." Naruto said unsurely.

Sakura raised a slender brow. "And do they tell you to leave them alone?"

"No."

Okay, she may have her memories sealed, but even she still understood social standards. How could Naruto not get it?! "Naruto, if they don't tell you to scat or mock you, then they must not hate you. Why not try to make friends with them?" Sakura suggested before frowning. "And did you say skipping class? For shame, Naruto, for shame!"

Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head. "I can't help it. Class is soooo bor-ing."

Sighing, Sakura put her hands on her hips and looked down at Naruto, who was still on his swing. "What is your dream?"

"To be Hokage someday! That way everyone in the village will have to stop disrespecting me and realize that I am not what they think! Believe it!"

Sakura blinked. Well, that was not what she was expecting, especially from such a lazy boy. "Um, Naruto, you realize that to be Hokage you have to be strong and smart, right?"

"What's your point, Sakura-chan? You don't think I can do?" Naruto asked angrily.

"No, no!" Sakura waved her hands in front of her. "That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying if you want to be Hokage someday, you have to get stronger and take your studying more seriously! You looked as lost as me in class today so I thought you were struggling."

Naruto scratched his head with a sheepish grin. "Well, I may not be the best at written tests…"

"And your aim sucks too." Sakura added with a sigh. "Not that I am all that great either. We both need training."

"Sakura-chan?"

"Okay!" Sakura shouted, eyes flaring with determination. "I will help you, Naruto!" She pointed a finger at him. "We are to train and study together. We both need to get strong to reach our dreams."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean, you think I can become Hokage one day?"

"If you train and study hard enough anything is possible." Sakura declared.

A grin spread across Naruto's face. "Then I will return the favor, Sakura-chan! I will help you find the man who took your memories from you."

"Thank you, Naruto!" Sakura cried and threw herself at Naruto to hug him. "We're going to be the best of friends, I just know it!"

Naruto laughed and blushed at the same time. No girl had ever given him a hug before. Actually, he didn't recall getting a single hug in his whole life. He had no idea of what he was missing until now. It felt so warm and comforting as Sakura hugged him. Gingerly, he wrapped his arms around Sakura to return the hug. Her form felt so small in his arms.

"Hey, Naruto," Sakura said suddenly, pushing a bit off of her friend, but not pulling away completely. "I was wondering, who is 'old man' you mentioned before?"

"The Third Hokage." Naruto said, still grinning. "It's what I call him."

"That's so disrespectful, Naruto." Sakura scolded. "You are lucky he is a nice man."

Naruto laughed. "You've met him?"

"Course, I couldn't just enroll in the academy or move into the village with no memory without a few meetings with him." Sakura said softly.

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but a growl stopped him before he could. With a blush adorning his cheeks, Naruto scratched his head. "I'm hungry."

"Honestly," Sakura said, stepping back. "Want to go get dinner?"

"Yeah! I'll show you my favorite place to eat!" Naruto said cheerfully, jumping off the swing. He held his hand out to Sakura, who took it with a soft smile.

"Lead the way, my dear knight." Sakura replied with a silly curtsy.

Naruto blushed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot today, but it might have to do with the fact that no girl has ever been this nice to him ever. He stole a glance at Sakura out of the corner of his eye as he walked down the street with her. For once, he was able to ignore all the glares and muttered curses at him. Sakura didn't let what they were saying affect her and continued to speak softly and smile at him. And when Naruto saw the sparkle in Sakura's eyes when he made her laugh, he decided that he would always protect Sakura. She said it jokingly earlier, but Naruto would make sure to be her knight to keep her safe as she journeyed to find her memories.

"Thank you for the fun evening, Naruto." Sakura said with a bow to her friend after they ate dinner. It had been a fun meal. The owner and his daughter were such nice people. She could see why Naruto liked coming here. They were great listeners to Naruto's and hers problems.

Naruto laughed. "You don't have to be so formal, Sakura-chan."

"Sorry Naruto." Sakura stood up straight. "And sorry about not being able to pay for dinner. I'll pay you back."

Naruto shook his head. "You don't have to, Sakura. I don't have a problem paying for your dinner."

Sakura blushed and nodded. "Whatever you say, Naruto." She glanced at the night sky. "It's getting late. I should get back to Kurenai's apartment. I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto." She waved and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Naruto jogged after her. "I'll walk you back."

Sakura shook her head. "You don't have to, Naruto. Shouldn't you be getting home as well?"

"Naw, no one is waiting for me anyway." Naruto replied, locking his hands behind his head.

The girl winced and looked away from her friend. "I'm sorry, Naruto. It must be difficult not to have parents."

"It's alright." Naruto said softly before perking up. "So who is Kurenai?"

"She's a ninja that is taking care of me since I am alone." Sakura explained.

Naruto nodded. "Sorry. Is it hard?" He asked curiously.

Sighing, Sakura kicked her toes into the ground briefly before continuing her walk. "A bit. I feel very empty and lost without my memories. It's like something has been stolen from me, and no matter how hard I try, how far I stretch my hand in front of me, I can't grasp it and get it back. I know it's there, but it is mocking me and staying out of my reach."

Naruto smiled sadly. He could never imagine how hard it was to have no memories, but know they were back there but it just couldn't be recalled. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. We'll find the person who did this and make him let you remember again."

"Yeah," Sakura replied. "Until then, I'll live my life, making new friends and memories."

Before Naruto could reply, Sakura came to a stop in front of an apartment complex. "This is my stop. Thank you, Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved as Sakura ran into the building.

Smiling to herself, Sakura ran up the stairs to the top floor of the building and didn't stop until she reached the door to Kurenai's apartment. She did a quick search of her pockets for her key before pushing it into the lock and walking inside.

"Sakura!"

Sakura paused and looked up to see Kurenai resting on the couch in the living room. The apartment consisted of two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a small living room. "Oh, hello Kurenai-san." Sakura greeted with a bow.

"You don't have to be so formal, Sakura." Kurenai replied as she stood up and moved over to the girl. She kneeled in front of Sakura and her kind face was replaced with a frown. "Where have you been? Do you have any idea of how worried I was?"

Sakura blinked. "Huh? Worried?"

"Yes, worried, Sakura. You weren't here for dinner." Kurenai explained. "And classes ended hours ago."

"Sorry, Kurenai-san." Sakura glanced at the ground. "Since I am only staying here for a place to stay, I thought you didn't care what I did. I went out with Naruto. He showed me around the village and bought me some ramen for dinner."

'_Naruto?' _Kurenai shook that thought from her head. Unlike some of the other ninjas, she did not mind the boy. She had seen him around the village. He always looked so lonely and sad. It pained her so much to see a child be shunned because of something he had no control over. "Of course I was worried, Sakura. You are my charge now. It is my duty to watch and protect you." She sighed and ruffled the girl's hair. "I guess you are not used to such a thing now. You can't remember what it is like."

"I'm sorry." Sakura said, bowing her head.

"Perhaps I should have done this last night." Kurenai said. "Ground rules."

Sakura looked up at her. "Ground rules?"

The older lady nodded and stood up to move back to the couch with Sakura following after her. She plopped down on the couch next to the ninja. "Firstly, I want you back before nine. The streets can be dangerous in the evening."

Sakura nodded and glanced at the clock. It was only eight thirty.

"Secondly, if you are going to be coming home late after classes, tell me beforehand. Tell me if you'll be here for dinner or not." Kurenai said.

"Okay. Shikamaru-kun is going to help me learn the history of the village so I'll be with him tomorrow to study. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone." Sakura explained.

Kurenai nodded. "Thank you for telling me. As for your training in Genjutsu, we will practice in the afternoons on Tuesdays, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday."

"Um, Kurenai-san? I might need extra training in stamina, endurance, strength, and Taijutsu." Sakura said shyly. She noticed it earlier that her stamina was pretty low and she didn't like it one bit.

Kurenai put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "Those are not my areas of expertise. You want to do extra training in them then what you do at the academy?"

Sakura nodded.

"Well, I know someone who is an expert in that. I will ask him if he can help with your training. Until then, the rest of your time is yours to spend how you see fit. Just remember to tell me where you are. Until we get used to this setting, I will not be going on missions." Kurenai explained.

"Yes, Kurenai-san. I apologize for putting you out like this." Sakura bowed to her.

Kurenai sighed. "You sure are formal, Sakura."

"I apo–" Sakura laughed when Kurenai gave her a mock glare. "Sorry. And thank you, Kurenai-san."

*Sasuke*

Black eyes stared at the girl that walked into the classroom. Compared to all the other girls he has seen in the academy, she looked the most ready for a fight. She wasn't wearing a dress and had confidence spilling from her aura. When Iruka-sensei said they had a new student, he was hoping for a boy so he wouldn't have to deal with another fangirl.

But her introduction shocked him to the core. Not only did the girl not once look at him, but what she said was plain shocking. She had her memory sealed. He could not imagine why anyone would want to seal a kid's memory, but her declaration to find the person who did and beat his ass into the ground made him smirk. If she was chasing after a skilled ninja, then she must be serious about being a ninja, unlike most of the other girls in the academy.

As their classes went on, he noticed that she stayed close to Naruto most of the day. The blond idiot seemed to be helping her along throughout the day, though he doubt he was any help with lessons. Not that the girl needed that much help in physical classes. She had a lack of stamina he noticed during her spar, but it seemed the motions she needed were still engrained in her, despite her memory being sealed. He wouldn't admit it, but he was a bit impressed, especially with her aim. If she missed, she just tried again. The determination never once dulled from her green eyes. It only got bigger with each miss.

"How was class?" Itachi asked, looking at his brother with a kind look in his dark eyes.

"Interesting." Sasuke replied after he swallowed his food.

Itachi raised a brow. "You've never described class as interesting before."

Sasuke looked up at his brother with a smile. "There is a new student. Her name is Sakura."

"Another fangirl?" Itachi teased.

The younger one shook his head. "I don't think she is from the village. Unless you've seen a pink haired girl running around?"

"Pink hair?" Itachi said, raising a brow. "So that is the girl."

"Hn?"

Itachi smiled and ruffled his brother's hair. "I was informed earlier today about a little girl being found in the forest."

"Were you informed because of the memory seal?" Sasuke asked.

"Memory seal?" Mikoto asked, interrupting the boys.

The younger boy looked at his mother and nodded. "She told us as part of her introduction about it so we wouldn't bother her about the mark on her neck."

"But on one so young?" Mikoto said, frowning sadly. "She must be so upset and confused."

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't think so. She declared she was going to find the man who did and beat him into the ground until he released her from it."

Itachi chuckled. "Well, I wish her luck. It will be difficult to find the man who did it when she doesn't remember him."

"Is she skilled?" Fugaku asked without looking up from his meal.

"Her body recalls the motions of fighting and throwing kunai, but her stamina needs work, along with her strength." Sasuke replied.

"So she hasn't fallen in love with you yet?" Itachi asked in a teasing tone.

Sasuke scowled at him and returned to his meal. He really hoped that another fangirl would not be added to the crowd. If he got any more, he would surely go insane. They were so annoying and loud. It seriously disrupted his training. He would have to stay clear of this girl before she caught sight of him and decided that he was hers like all those others nutcases.

**A/N: Sooo, since the massacre never happened, Sasuke's personality is a bit softer, at least to his brother. **

**Also, I need your guys' opinion. I have been thinking about this for weeks but I'm still not sure. Who do you want Sakura to be coupled with? I was thinking Itachi or Sasuke, but eh. Give your opinions to help me think! **

**Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Thanks for reviewing! **

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Inner"**

**The Residing Void**

**Chapter 4**

"SHIKA-KUN!" Sakura yelled as she bounded up the stairs to the sleeping boy the next morning. A few people shot her irritated glares, but she ignored them as she once again kneeled in front of the boy.

The boy groaned and lifted his head. "I told you not to call me that, Sakura." He grumbled. "Troublesome girl."

Grinning, Sakura rested her chin on the desk. "Shikamaru-kun, I have to train after classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday so we only have a limited amount of time to study. Oh, and I am also making Naruto come too. He is really lost. You don't mind, do you?"

"How troublesome." Shikamaru muttered as he put his head back down.

Laughing, Sakura stood up. She was starting to see a pattern here with the boy. She patted the boy's hair. "Thank you, Shikamaru-kun." She said before heading over to Naruto. "Hey Naruto. You're studying with us today."

Naruto groaned and dropped his head to his desk. "Do I have to?" He whined.

Hands planted on her hips, Sakura glared down at her friend like she was his mother. "Yes, you do. You'll never become Hokage otherwise."

Laughing at her friend's disgruntled look, Sakura plopped down in her seat for another day of lessons. They had lectures in the morning, then lunch, then the afternoon was spent on their physical classes. She sat through confusing lectures, wishing for lunch to get here sooner. She really wanted to eat the lunch Kurenai made for her. Her food was really good, so now she had to add cooking lessons to what Kurenai would teach her.

The moment the bell rang for lunch, Sakura jumped up from her seat and spun around to immediately come face to face with Shikamaru. "Woah!" She gasped and stepped back, looking at his empty seat then at him. "How did you get over here so fast?"

Shikamaru gave a lazy smile, but didn't answer her question. "It will take a lot of work to get you caught up on lessons so I will also help you during lunch as well as after school." He told her.

"What? Studying during lunch?" Naruto whined.

"I thought I was the laziest person around." Shikamaru said in a bored tone.

Grumbling, Naruto followed the two to the roof of the academy where they found Chōji already scarfing down his lunch. He glanced up briefly before going back to his meal. After a moment he paused and looked up again in surprise. "Well, if it isn't Naruto. You've never had lunch with us before." He glanced at the girl. "And your name was Sakura, correct?"

Sakura nodded and waved at him. "Hey! Who are you?"

"Chōji Akimichi." Chōji told her before taking another bite of his food. "What are you guys doing here?"

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "Please don't talk with your mouth full." She sat down in front of him. "Shikamaru is going to tutor Naruto and me."

"Sounds painful." Chōji replied.

"Are all the boys here this lazy?" Sakura asked.

"Probably." Shikamaru replied as he laid down on the ground to watch the clouds. "Except maybe Sasuke."

Sakura frowned at the lazy boy. "Sasuke? Again with the Sasuke! Who is this Sasuke person?"

The boys sweat dropped at the angry tone of the girl. What was she so angry about?

"Ino kept mentioning him yesterday and apparently all the girls swarm over him! Who is this guy? I want to see what makes him so special!" Sakura growled, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the lazy boy, who just blinked in shock.

While Shikamaru was in shock, Chōji started laughing. "That has got to be the best reaction we have ever gotten from a girl about Sasuke." He said when the three stared at him.

Naruto humphed and crossed his own arms. "He is the second heir to the Uchiha clan, and top of our class. He thinks he is so much better than everyone else."

"Sounds like an arrogant jerk." Sakura murmured.

Naruto nodded. "One day I will beat his ass into the ground!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Naruto and Sasuke hate each other. They have a sort of rivalry going on."

"Though Naruto always loses their spars." Chōji chuckled.

"How is it a rivalry then?" Sakura mused.

Naruto scowled at her. "Traitors." He muttered to their amusement. "I will defeat him one day! Just you wait and see!"

"That's enough fooling around. We best get to studying." Shikamaru decided as he sat up straight, ignoring Naruto's rant.

Once again, Naruto groaned. He should have just told Sakura no when she suggested this torture.

***Sasuke***

Sasuke stared at Naruto with a bored look. This would be such an easy fight. Why did Iruka-sensei have to keep pairing him up with Naruto for spars in class? This dope was never going to be able to beat him.

Surprisingly, Naruto turned away from Sasuke for a moment since the spar hasn't begun yet. It was still a foolish move though. "Sakura-chan!" He called, and the pink haired girl raised a hand to show she was listening. To Sasuke's confusion the dobe pointed at him. "This is Sasuke Uchiha."

Green orbs turned to the boy. A slender brow was raised as she looked him over. "Well, I guess he has a cute face."

"Sakura is turning into a traitor!" Chōji cried mockingly from next to her. During lunch, even though a lot of it was spent studying, Sakura let them fool around a bit because it made the studying more fun. Because of that and her laidback attitude, they found themselves liking the girl more and more. She was different from all the loud girls in the class who only cared about Sasuke.

Sasuke, on the other hand, twitched. Damn, he had no way to avoid this girl to keep her from becoming a fangirl. This was just great. He did not need this!

"But, I see nothing special beyond that." Sakura finished in a matter of fact tone, completely ignoring what her friend said. "He looks beyond arrogant. Why any girl likes him with that arrogant air around him, I do not know."

While the boys smirked at the girl for bringing down Sasuke, who looked quite surprised, the girls cried out in outrage at having their one love being insulted by someone who only just arrived in their village. The only one not saying anything was a dark blue haired girl, who was shuffling on her feet in a shy manner. Sakura glanced at her curiously, ignoring the glares sent her way since she had Chōji and Shikamaru standing on either side of her to keep her safe from the rabid fangirls as she liked to call them.

Iruka sighed at the screeching. That girl has only been here for two days and she was already causing a ruckus for him, but he couldn't help the smile that graced his lips. She was pulling Naruto into a closer friendship with the three he liked to skip class with and making herself friends with him as well. It would be interesting to see where this goes.

Coughing, Iruka drew attention back to himself. Well, at least the boys did. The girls were glaring at Sakura or staring lovingly at Sasuke. "Girls." He said to draw their attention so poor Sakura could escape the glares. Though, she seemed to be able to ignore them quite easily. "Alright, Sasuke, Naruto, you can begin!"

Each boy performed the Seal of Confrontation before they fell into their stances. A moment later Naruto charged at the black haired boy making Sakura sigh. She should have known that Naruto would make the first move. He really did seem like the impulsive type of person.

Naruto swung his fist back, but Sasuke just knocked it aside and aimed his own fist at Naruto's stomach. Pushing himself to the side, Naruto dodged the punch and used his momentum to get behind Sasuke to throw a kick at his back. As he was lifting his leg to kick, Sasuke spun around and wrapped his arms around Naruto's leg to stop it. With his opponent's leg trapped, Sasuke yanked the boy forward. Stumbling on one foot, Naruto didn't get a chance to stop the knee that came flying into his stomach.

Sakura sighed. It seemed that Sasuke's arrogance did stem from something. Naruto could not touch Sasuke without more training, which didn't surprise the girl. If he was from a clan, then he was obviously well trained from before joining the academy.

Naruto managed to hold in a gasp of pain before Sasuke used the moment to slam his fist into Naruto's face. As his fist met the boy's face, he let go of the captured leg so the boy was sent flying back. The boy landed on the ground with a THUD, but he wasn't down long. He was back on his feet within seconds, though he had blood trailing down his face.

Sakura frowned at the sight of his blood. What did Sasuke do? Break his nose? That would have to be painful, and yet, Naruto didn't show any pain on his face, just determination to hit Sasuke.

"Has Naruto ever once hit Sasuke?" Sakura asked curiously and a bit worriedly.

"I think twice." Shikamaru replied.

"By luck." Chōji added.

So it seemed no one had any faith in Naruto.

Sasuke ducked under one of Naruto's punches. He reached up to grab the blond's shirt and used Naruto's momentum to pull himself up while at the same time pushing one of his feet into Naruto's to trip the boy up and flip him over his shoulder. Before the blond could get up, Sasuke slammed a knee into his stomach and grabbed his throat.

"Sasuke wins!" Iruka declared, ceasing Naruto's struggles.

As Sasuke released the boy, Naruto huffed and stood up. They both glared at each other.

"What about the Seal of Reconciliation?" Sakura asked confused.

"Those two refuse to perform it to each other." Shikamaru explained.

Sakura frowned. "Just because of a rivalry?"

Shikamaru shrugged.

"That won't do. We are all comrades." Sakura huffed and she marched over to the two before they could leave the ring. She snatched up Sasuke's shirt before he could escape and shot a glare at Naruto. "Reconciliation Seal now!"

"Uh, Sakura, it's alright." Iruka said, frowning. Even he had given up on trying to make them perform the seal. Those two were just so stubborn.

Sakura moved her glare to him. "It is not alright. You two are comrades, from the same village! A rivalry is good and all because it means you two will strive to get better to defeat the other, but you have to remember that is not your sole purpose in life. You are also comrades so make the seal. It is not going to kill you to make it!"

Sasuke glared at her. "Annoying." He muttered and ripped himself free from her with the purpose of leaving. What he didn't expect was for Sakura to twist her body to slam a leg in front of his path and into his stomach.

"Oh, no, you are not going anywhere!" Sakura growled and grabbed his arm. She noticed movement in the corner of her eye and saw Naruto trying to move away. Her hand shot out grab his arm. "You too! We are all comrades here. Making one Seal of Reconciliation is not going to change anything. Oh, and I'm not going to leave you two alone until you do it. Whether it be today, tomorrow, the next time you spar. I will keep bothering you two until you make it. It's your choice." She added sweetly.

Both of the boys looked disgruntled at that and turned to each other. "Just to get her to leave me alone." Sasuke grunted.

"I don't want to hear her whine about Sasuke because of this." Naruto grumbled and he held his hand out to make the seal with his rival.

Smiling, Sakura released the two. She patted both on the head. "What good boys you two are." And with that, she happily skipped back over to a shocked Shikamaru and Chōji. In fact, everyone was shocked and staring at the girl or the seal the two boys made.

'_For someone with amnesia, she sure is a force to be reckoned with. I thought her personality would be more shy and quiet without her memories.' _Iruka thought in shock.

Sasuke shot the girl a glare, but she just ignored it. Huffing, he moved back to his area in the crowd where he could be left along. Well, mostly along. The fangirls were….surprisingly quiet today. They were usually screaming in his ear. With a quick glance at them he saw them glaring at Sakura. God, that girl was going to make enemies this way.

"Right," Iruka said, knocking himself back into sense. "Naruto, do you need to go to the infirmary?"

Sakura glanced at her friend in worry. That was a lot of blood and with the fight over now, the pain was shining in his blue eyes. She wished she could relieve him of his pain like those doctors at the hospital did for her. She didn't like to see her friend hurting.

"No, I'm alright, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto replied, holding his nose.

"Oh, geez, Naruto, you're getting blood everywhere." Sakura scolded and she pulled out a handkerchief. "Move your hand." She pulled his hand away softly and gently placed her handkerchief to his nose. Without realizing it, she begin to feel his nose through the handkerchief. It seems her original assessment was wrong. The bone wasn't broken, but it might be bruised. "Hold this to your nose and tilt your head back."

His cheeks were blushing, but the blood covered it up, though Naruto didn't think it mattered. Sakura never seemed to notice his blushes. That, or she just didn't mention all of his blushes. "Thank you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura nodded. "Anything else hurt?"

"No, I'm alright." Naruto replied.

Smiling, Iruka asked, "Why don't you go next, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked and looked away from her friend. "Okay!" She cheered and she bounded over to the middle of the ring. "So who am I facing off against?"

"Ami, you haven't sparred yet. Go and face Sakura." Iruka suggested.

A purple haired girl stepped from the crowd of students with a superior smirk. "Okay, I'll be glad to teach her that she shouldn't go around insulting Sasuke-kun and acting all superior by making him touch that freak."

"Ami." Iruka said in a warning tone while Sakura looked around in confusion.

Sakura glanced at Naruto then Sasuke then back at her opponent. "Oh!" She exclaimed, grinning suddenly. "You are one of Sasuke's rabid fangirls!"

If he wasn't trained so well, Iruka would have whacked his forehead. What was with this girl and her loose tongue?

"Rabid fangirl?" Ami said in a deadly tone.

"Geez, Sakura, we are going to have to teach you to hold your tongue. It's funny in private, but you really shouldn't call Sasuke's fans that to their faces." Shikamaru said in a deadpanned voice.

'_Hn, what a strange girl.' _Sasuke thought in amusement. The pink haired girl was becoming more and more interesting the more she talked. After all he has never heard someone call his fans that before.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, watch me!" Ami called to the black haired boy, making him and Sakura roll their eyes. "I'll teach her not to insult you."

Sakura scoffed. "How insulting. And here I thought the second Uchiha heir was strong. Why would he ask you to fight his battles for him? That is just plain insulting to him."

Ami glared at her. "You're wrong. I am just saving Sasuke-kun from having to waste his time on a weak little girl who let her memories be sealed. Your life was probably so pathetic before that you let them get sealed because you couldn't handle the truth of how pathetic you truly are!"

Green eyes narrowed angrily. Let them get sealed? Who the hell would let such a thing happen? It was horrible wandering around with no memories and no idea of what was going on. How dare she?!

"You don't even belong here! You are just an outsider who is getting sympathy from _our_ Hokage because you are so pathetic!" Ami shouted.

Iruka frowned at the girl's blatant disrespect. If she ever wanted to be a ninja she would have to learn some respect and honor, especially towards her comrades.

Sasuke growled softly to himself. How dare this girl? He may not like Sakura all that much, but that didn't mean he would be rude to her. He could tell the girl was lost without her memories and she didn't want it brought up! Ami was being a real bitch just because Sakura didn't suck up to him and try to hit on him, which is find really relieving after having all the other girls suffocate him.

Naruto glared at Ami. He never liked the girl to begin with, and now he absolutely hated the girl. She had no idea of who Sakura was. She has never spoken to Sakura before this so how could she just make assumptions like this. At least when Sakura spoke, it was in a cheerful manner and most of what she said was in a joking way. Ami had no such restraint.

"I will show no mercy."

The deadly voice brought Sasuke's attention to Sakura, whose fist were shaking with rage. He looked at her face to see pure rage on it. In her eyes the rage was mixed with fear and sadness. And Sasuke decided that such a look didn't belong on her face.

Naruto winced at the tone that Sakura used. Usually he heard that type of voice being directed at him. But to see it used by a friend and directed at someone else, he couldn't help but pity the person who was facing it. Well, he guessed he could. Sakura was already hurting and now it was being pushed in her face. She didn't need that. Ami had no right to say what she said.

"Iruka-sensei, start the fight." Sakura growled.

Iruka looked at her worriedly then at Ami, who glared defiantly back at Sakura. With the amount of rage pouring off of Sakura she should be quaking in her shoes. The fact that she just glared back either meant she was foolish or overconfident. Neither was a good trait to have. "Start." He said, feeling that he would regret this in a moment.

The two girls performed their Seal of Confrontation, though each only lasted for a second before they slid into their stances. Well, Ami did, Sakura was already on the move towards her prey. Before Ami could even register, Sakura was already behind her and slamming her fist into her back so hard that the purple haired girl was sent flying forward a few feet before landing on the ground. She groaned on the ground softly for a few seconds before trying to get up. She lifted her head to see Sakura standing right in front of her with her head turned down to look at her.

"Get. Up." Sakura growled.

Ami glared at her.

"Ninjas don't just lie on the ground after one hit. They get up and fight back." Sakura snarled. "You'll never make it if you don't get that in your head."

'_Is she trying to teach her even though she is angry and upset?' _Iruka thought in shock.

"Your _dear _Sasuke-kun will not always be there to protect you." Sakura added sarcastically.

'_Ah, there's the insult.' _Iruka thought before sighing. Perhaps this was a bad pairing.

Ami snarled and flew up with her fist aimed at Sakura. The pinked haired girl merely stepped to the side. With the sudden attack, Ami didn't have any balance as she threw her fist so Sakura merely kicked her in the back to send her sprawling to the ground again. Before she could get up Sakura dropped, pressing her knee into her back and grabbed the back of her neck to squeeze it tightly. Ami gasped and tried to throw Sakura off her, but Sakura refused to move and squeezed her neck tighter.

"Iruka-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Uh, right." Iruka blinked. That wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. The fight only last about a minute and it seemed that Sakura did control herself. She took her anger and brought it under her control. She didn't let her emotions run wild in the fight. That was good. "Sakura wins!"

Nodding, Sakura released the girl beneath her and stepped away. After a few steps, she paused and looked over her shoulder at the girl kneeling on the ground. "If you are going to try and pointlessly defend _Sasuke-kun's_ honor again, I suggest you start training, weakling."

"Sakura." Iruka warned, but the girl just shrugged and went back to her friends. _'No matter how right you are, you didn't have to be so harsh about it.' _

Stopping by her friends, Sakura huffed. "How am I supposed to get stronger if I can't fight strong people?"

Naruto laughed. "I'll fight you, Sakura-chan." He glanced at Ami then at Sakura. "Good job putting her in her place. She is so annoying." He added in a whisper.

"Still need to teach you to hold your tongue." Shikamaru muttered.

Sakura huffed at him.

***Sasuke***

As Sasuke walked towards the exit to the academy, he heard whispers coming from around the corner. Hearing people talk after classes were over was not surprising. The surprising part came because he heard the name Sakura and he recognized the voice as Ami. Now why would Ami discuss Sakura when she absolutely despised the girl?

"We need to teach _Sakura _some manners." Ami sneered. "No one talks to me like that and gets away with it. "

Sasuke stopped himself from rounding the corner to listen. He may not like Sakura all that much, but as she said earlier, they were all comrades. If these girls were planning something, he had to know.

"Not to mention she insulted our Sasuke-kun." Another girl's voice that Sasuke recognized as Sally said. "We can't let a foreigner with _pink hair _come in here and walk all over like she's own the place. Honestly, what was the Hokage thinking allowing her to stay in the village?"

"He must be losing his mind with his old age." A voice that Sasuke recognized as May said.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. Not only did they insult Sakura, but their Hokage too? These girls had absolutely no right to be ninjas!

"So how should we teach little pinky a lesson?" Ami asked, smirking cruelly.

Hearing enough, Sasuke pushed off the wall he was leaning against and rounded the corner, glaring at Ami and her group of friends. "You will do nothing to Sakura." He snarled.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ami said, wiping the evil look from her face to replace it by an innocent one, which Sasuke just glared at. She could not pull innocent off. "How can you defend that pink demon? We just want to teach her that she shouldn't act so high and mighty."

"You just want to hurt her for winning." Sasuke snarled, and he wasn't just referring to their spar. "If you do anything that will hurt Sakura physically or mentally, I will personally make sure you are expelled from the academy and never get to become a ninja." With one last glare at the now fuming girls, he walked passed them and left. He had no doubt that he just made them even more furious at Sakura, thinking that it was her fault he just scolded them. Great, he should have just ignored it. Now that he put his nose in it, he would have to watch Sakura's back to keep her safe from his fangirls.

When he stepped out of the academy, Sasuke watched Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru leave together, oblivious to the fact that a certain group of fangirls were after Sakura's head. He wondered where they were going, but found that it wasn't his business and he shouldn't care so he just ran over to his waiting brother. "Hey Aniki." He greeted.

Itachi nodded at his brother. "Sasuke. Shall we head home?"

Sasuke nodded and followed his brother down the street.

"So what caught your attention?" Itachi asked when they were away from the academy.

"My attention?" Sasuke asked, keeping his eyes on the road in front of him. Damn, why did his brother have to be so observant?

Itachi nodded, not sparing his brother anything but a glance. "Yes, you usual run right over to me, but today you paused and were looking at something else."

"Hn."

The older of the two smirked. "It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with a certain mysterious pink haired girl, would it?"

Sasuke refused to reply.

"I noticed her too. She chose some strange companions." Itachi added, glancing at his brother again, but he was still looking forward. How strange. His dear little brother used to adore him so much and would always look at him. Maybe Sakura was much more interesting than he realized if she could do this to his brother. "Is that why she grabbed your attention?"

Sasuke grumbled to himself, but didn't reply to his brother. How could he say that a girl made him do the Seal of Reconciliation with Naruto? Or that said girl unintentionally defended his honor by telling the fangirls that he didn't need protection? He didn't that Sakura even realized that one in her anger. Or how could he possibly say that he just defended her against his fangirls and was now going to have to watch her back because of it? He couldn't say any of that!

"Hey Aniki, will you help me train today?" Sasuke asked, hoping to change the conversation.

"It's always training with you." Itachi replied, smirking. "Sure, I'll help you, but…"

Sasuke groaned. He hated it when his brother asked for something in return. It never ended well for him. "What do you want?"

"For you to tell me what Pinky did to attract your attention." Itachi said, smirking mischievously at his little brother.

"Aniki," Sasuke groaned.

Itachi shrugged. "That's the deal today."

"I really hate it when you feel the need to make a deal with me." Sasuke growled. "Can't we just forget Sakura?"

"You were the one staring at her." Itachi pointed out.

Great, just great. Now he would have to tell him the story of what happened today.

**A/N: Please Review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Inner"**

**The Residing Void**

**Chapter 5**

This has got to be one of the strangest situations she has gotten herself into…since her arrival in Konoha, at least since she didn't remember anything before her time here. Honestly, this was either going to kill or seriously injure her or someone else. She didn't want to die! There was so much she had to do in life still!

And besides that, she still didn't understand how this was going to help her with her Genjutsu! In fact, if she didn't know better, she would assume that Kurenai was messing around with her. But since Kurenai was so serious about not continuing her training until she managed to make her way from the Hokage building to training ground three with a blindfold on, she had no choice but to walk around.

And of course, she found this entire situation embarrassing. Who walks around a village with a blindfold on, tripping over anything and running into people? There was no possible way she could do this, especially since she didn't know this village that well yet. And yet, Kurenai just said that would make the training all the better because they would be times when she didn't know the area she was in and would have to get around without sight.

So cruel.

_Kurenai looked down at the girl kneeling in front of her on the lawn of training ground three. "Before I even begin to teach you how to do Genjutsu, you will first have to recognize that you are in one. I do not want you to fall victim to Genjutsus so you have to know the area you are in as if it were your bedroom. You have to know every inch of it. But you can't just focus on what you see. Too often shinobis rely heavily on what they can see, which gets them caught in an illusion. So your first stage is to learn to not focus only on what you can see, but what you can hear, smell, taste, and feel. You have to heighten the rest of your senses to react to your environment." _

"_How do we do that?" Sakura asked curiously. _

_Smiling, Kurenai held out a black cloth. "You will blindfold yourself and try to figure out what is wrong in your environment without seeing." _

_Nodding, Sakura wrapped the cloth around her eyes and got into a more comfortable position on the ground. _

_She knew it would be difficult to suddenly focus on her senses that didn't involve seeing, but after three hours into the training, she found it damn near impossible. The changes to her environment could be as simple as the sounds of the birds chirping disappearing or the smell of a strange flower that didn't belong as it didn't grow around here. It was so difficult. She couldn't get used to the idea of no sight. _

_Kurenai sighed as Sakura removed the blindfold from her eyes with a blush. "I see we have to get you used to having no eyes first. If you can learn what your environment is like with no eyes, then you will be able to detect when a Genjutsu has been cast. So your first test, which you must pass before I continue training you, is to get from the Hokage's building to here." _

"_What?" Sakura shouted. "How am I supposed to do that without killing myself? Plus, I don't even know this place well enough to know the path." _

"_All the better." Kurenai replied sharply. "There will be times when you do not know the area you are in for a mission. If you learn to adapt now without sight, it will help you in the future. Until you can do this test within an hour, your training is on hold."_

_Sakura gaped at her sensei as she disappeared in a puff of smoke. _

Sakura took a few more cautious steps forward, testing the ground before she put her foot down. She has been trying to succeed in this exercise for two weeks now. On the first day, she walked into a wall. A wall! The second day, she walked on some kids' marbles and fell on her butt. And after being at it for a week, she still couldn't get halfway to the training ground. At this rate, she was going to have rely on Taijutsu training with her friends and Gai-sensei. Though, she preferred her friends for that training. Kurenai introduced her to Gai, and while he was a good instructor, he was a bit too exuberant for her. It kind of scared her a bit.

Her ears strained to hear all the sounds around her and avoid all those who would get in her way. She just hoped there were no ninjas around. Civilians she could hear easily because they weren't trained to be silent, but ninjas were. There was no way she could know if they were in her path or not.

With another step forward, Sakura walked into something…AGAIN! She could tell it was a body when she pushed off of the person with a frown. Stupid person. Can't he see there is a blind girl walking around?

"What are you doing?"

If she could have, Sakura would have blinked at the amused tone she heard. Was that person talking to her? Couldn't he see that she was in the middle of something here?!

Ignoring the boy, Sakura reached out gingerly to find where he was since it sounded like he was still in front of him. When her fingers met resistance, she slowly slid her fingers across, what she was hoped was his chest, as she shifted around him. She felt the boy's chest rumble with a chuckle, making Sakura growl softly.

When Sakura was sure she was passed him, she dropped her hand and continued forward, only to run into another bloody chest! "Damn it." She snarled, pushing off the person.

"Hey, you didn't answer my question." The person said.

Sakura's brows furrowed. That voice…"Didn't I already pass you up?"

"A person with sight moves faster then someone who is blind." The boy retorted.

"Maybe for now, but the more I practice moving blind, the more confident I will get being blind and I will move faster." Sakura retorted.

Sakura felt a slight tug at her blindfold, and before she could stop him, the boy had pulled the cloth from her eyes. Sudden brightness assaulted her eyes, forcing Sakura to slam her eyes over them. Gingerly, she spread her fingers very slightly and opened her eyes a crack to try to get used to the sudden light. This action resulted in her seeing a highly amused boy in front of her.

Growling, Sakura whacked his arm. "What did you go and do that for?"

The boy grinned, which made Sakura blush a bit. That grin just made him much more handsome. He was a few years older than her she noticed. His short hair was dark and unkempt, while his eyes were a dark grey with well-defined eyelashes that were upturned framing them. He was dressed in black pants with a weapon pouch on his right leg. His top consisted of a dark colored shirt with a high collar. He wore regular black ninja shoes and had a headband wrapped around his forehead. On his back he had a tantō strapped.

"I just want to know what you are doing." The boy said.

"I'm trying to train." Sakura grumbled.

"Train by running into people?" The boy replied, smirking.

Sakura blushed and glared at the ground. "Kurenai-san won't continue my training until I get from the Hokage building to the training ground three without using my sight."

The boy blinked before smirking. "Aww, is little pinky having trouble?"

Sakura glared at him. "Don't call me that!"

"Well, then what should I call you?"

"It's rude to ask for someone's name without giving your own first." Sakura retorted.

Smirking, the boy ruffled her hair. "It's Shisui Uchiha, and I think I like you, kid."

"Uchiha?" Sakura asked with a grumble.

Shisui leaned over to look her in the eyes. "Do you have a problem with my clan?" He asked with a (irritating to her) smirk.

"Sasuke's rabid fangirls have it out for me." Sakura grumbled.

"You angered them, didn't you?" Shisui teased. "Word of advice, you never anger the crazy fangirls."

Sakura snorted. "They're just obsessed with looks. I didn't really get it." She stared at him with a contemplating look. "I mean, you are better looking than Sasuke anyway. Where are your rabid fangirls?"

Grey eyes blinked for a moment before laughter bubbled up from his chest. "Oh, are you hitting on me?"

A red blush spread over Sakura's cheeks and she hit the boy. "No. I am pointing out a fact, jerk."

"You sure are violent." Shisui said, grinning.

"Are you tormenting children now?" A voice called.

Both kids looked towards where the voice was coming from to see two more ninjas approaching them. One of them looked to be around Shisui's age, though he looked much more serious and thoughtful. He was dressed the same way as Shisui and had dark eyes and black hair that was like Shisui's. Though his hair was longer and tied in the back with a red band. The second person looked to be a few years older than the boys. He was dressed in the standard ninja outfit. Unlike the other two though, he had short brown hair and dark brown eyes.

"Tormenting?" Shisui asked insulted. "Can I not simply talk to a child?"

Sakura snorted. "You call me a child when you are not much older than I am."

"What?" Shisui glared at her. "I'll have you know that I am fourteen, Pinky. And not to mention that I am a Jōnin."

Sakura's eyes widened, making Shisui smirk as he thought he got her…then she opened her mouth. "They let someone as immature and laidback as you become a Jōnin?" She pointed at the other black haired boy. "He seems more like a Jōnin then you, and he hasn't even said one word yet!"

The boy smirked. "It seems I really am better than you, Shisui."

"Shut up, Itachi. She doesn't know what she is talking about." Shisui retorted.

"Is that any way to talk to your Taichou?" Itachi argued, smirking.

"Itachi?" Sakura butted in, pushing Shisui aside to look at the serious boy. "You're Sasuke's brother, right?"

Itachi gave her a brief nod. "And you are Sakura, correct?"

Green eyes blinked. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Itachi shrugged. "Sasuke complains about you all the time."

'_Complains…?' _Sakura huffed. "What did I ever do to get him to complain about me?"

"Sakura?" Shisui said, hopping in front of Sakura again. "You're the little girl they found in the forest?"

"How'd you know that?" Sakura asked confused.

Shisui shrugged. "News travels. Plus, I'm a Jōnin! I was informed."

The little girl snorted and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Probably snuck around and stole the information."

Ignoring her, Shisui's eyes moved to her hair. "But really, pink hair?"

"It's natural, you jerk!" Sakura hissed, hitting him again.

"I didn't say anything!" Shisui cried.

"As amusing as it is to watch Shisui get hit by an eight year old, we have a mission." Itachi interrupted.

Shisui nodded and draped Sakura's cloth over her head. "Alright, but," He looked back at the girl. "This isn't over, you hear me! When I return, I'll show you just how good I am."

Sakura snatch the cloth from her head. "Uh-huh, sure you will."

Shisui, who heard her as he was walking away with his team, looked over his shoulder and smirked. "Oh, I will, and then you will no longer be able to mock me!"

"She's eight, you idiot." The oldest boy said. "You are arguing with an eight year old!"

Shisui ignored him and waved to the girl. "Oh, and Cherry Blossom, you might want to learn to sense chakra. It will help with your exercise."

Sakura nodded. Was that the secret of the test?...wait…"It's Sakura, Uchiha-san! Not Cherry Blossom!"

If Shisui heard her, he made no indication as he was facing forward once more.

"Did she just put –san on your name?" Itachi asked. "And here I thought she hated you."

Shisui scoffed. "Hate me? How could she hate me when I just gave her a hint to help with her test?"

***3*Weeks*Later***

Sakura watched silently as Naruto ate his fifth bowl of ramen. The first few times he did this, she tried to figure out where he put it all, but she hadn't gotten anywhere with that. So, now, she just accepted the fact that he was a bottomless pit. Well, at least she didn't have to pay for his food. She had to wonder where he got the money for all this ramen though.

Smiling softly, Sakura went back to her own bowl. Naruto was a really good friend. He was always there to help her with her training when no one else could, even if he wasn't all that good. But with them both trying to improve, he was getting better. She couldn't wait for the next time he fought Sasuke in a spar. It would be a much better fight.

Within the couple months she has been here, Naruto has become much happier. She could see it shining more clearly in his eyes than ever. It could have been because of her or it could have been because of the three boys they have become close to: Shikamaru, Chōji, and Kiba. Personally, Kiba's boasting was a bit annoying so she found him a bit annoying, but they were all nice so she found they could be great friends. If she had to guess, Naruto's happiness came from a bit of both.

Besides them, Sakura also tried to get some girl friends. So far, she only has Ino. Ino found her putting Ami in her place amazing. Apparently, they both loved Sasuke, but Ami was very rude and hated Ino, always calling her ugly. This had angered Sakura greatly and she shouted that Ino was way prettier than Ami and that she was just jealous. Ino had stared at her in shock before laughing and saying that Sakura was very pretty too. They were becoming great friends, and as such, Ino was helping Sakura learn about all the flowers, what were poisonous and what they mean, for their flower class that the girls had to take.

Out of the girls, only two didn't hate Sakura because she dissed Sasuke. One was Ino. She didn't like the dissing, but she said it was less competition so it was fine. And the other was a quiet girl that Sakura noticed during their sparring class. Sakura approached her to try to talk, but she was so shy, everything she said was stuttered. So, Sakura was still working with her. What she had found out was that her name was Hinata Hyūga and that she was the heir to her clan. Sakura kind of felt sorry for the girl. With how shy she was, she was not going to make it as the head of the clan so Sakura made it her personal mission to work on the shyness part, and then maybe, she would become Sakura's friend.

"Sakura?"

Blinking, Sakura looked over at her friend. "What is it, Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged. "You weren't answering me. I thought something was wrong."

"Oh, sorry." Sakura gave him a smile. "I was just thinking about the past couple of months."

Blue eyes blinked at her before they were moved to the bowl in front of him. "So, how do you feel?"

"Huh? I'm fine." Sakura said confused.

Naruto shook his head. "You told me before you felt empty inside because you had no memories. Do you still feel like that after these past couple of months?"

"Oh," Sakura twisted her chopsticks around her fingers. "Well, I don't feel as empty as before. But," She paused and put a hand on her chest where her heart was. "It feels like there is still a hole in there. I don't think it will matter how many memories I get. This hole inside of me is never going to vanish until I know for sure who I am."

"But we know who you are. You are Sakura, a very nice and bright girl who enjoys training and helping her friends." Naruto said confused, brows furrowed as he looked back at her.

"That's not what I meant." Sakura whispered, tapping her chopsticks on her bowl now. "I mean," She paused for a moment and looked up at Teuchi, who was watching her in concern. "I don't know, what if Sakura isn't really my real name? What if this personality I have is all a fake? What if how I act, what I say, what I think was all just created by the person who sealed my memory? What was I like before? Who were my friends? Did I want to be a ninja before I lost my memories? I don't know. And unless I know, I don't think I'll ever feel at peace. I want to know, to know why this all happened. I want the truth."

"Sakura." Naruto said softly, looking away from his friend. Yes, he has always felt alone since he has no friends or family, but he always knew who he was and that his actions were his own. It was his own decision to be a ninja. He had no idea of what it meant to be confused like she was.

"Oh, my Cherry Blossom!" A voice cried and suddenly Sakura found herself with arms around her and pulled into a hard chest.

Sakura blinked and tilted her head up to see Shisui holding her tightly.

"What the–" Naruto cried, looking at the boy in surprise.

"I didn't know you felt so lost." The boy moaned. "It must be so difficult to have no memories of your past."

Itachi rolled his eyes at his friend.

"You're back?" Sakura asked blankly.

"Yep, we just finished our report to the Hokage." Shisui replied, grinning at her.

"Ah," Sakura pushed Shisui off of her. "That's nice. You shouldn't eavesdrop on innocent little girls and her friends though."

Shisui huffed. "I didn't mean to. I just happened to happened to hear you as I was walking passed."

Sakura huffed in returned. "Whatever. Anyway, I did want to say thanks to you."

The boy blinked. Naruto blinked. Itachi raised a brow.

"Thanks to your suggestion of learning to sense chakra, I managed to pass Kurenai-san's test." Sakura spun in her seat and gave a small bow while still sitting. Though she wouldn't mention that she also learned to push chakra into her ears and nose to heighten their senses for the test as well. "So thank you, Uchiha-san. It was difficult to learn to sense chakra, but it really helped me." Difficult, yep, it was very difficult. She had to do so much studying at the library to figure out what she was supposed to be doing since she didn't want to bother any ninjas with it.

Shisui grinned and ruffled her hair. "Come, Cherry, you don't have to be so formal about it."

"I told you my name is Sakura!" Sakura said, knocking his hand off her hair.

"But I like giving nicknames to people." Shisui said, smirking at her.

Itachi sighed. "He will not stop, Sakura-san, so it might be best to give up."

Huffing, Sakura went to turn back to her meal when she caught sight of Shisui's wrist that was all bandaged up. "What happened to you?" She asked, eyes widening.

"Ah, this?" Shisui waved his arm weakly. "Just an accident during the mission."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. A Jōnin having an accident during a mission? She didn't buy that for a minute. It was too bad he didn't have a medical ninja with him to heal that with him after it happened. It probably would have saved him some pain.

Sighing, Sakura waved to the two Uchihas as they left. A medical ninja? She snorted at the thought. There were hardly any medical ninjas around. From what she studied of it, it took precise chakra control and high intelligence so it wasn't something commonly seen.

"So, uh, who were they?" Naruto asked as the two teenagers left.

"Uchihas that I met a few weeks ago." Sakura said. "The quiet one is Sasuke's brother."

"Really?" Naruto said surprised. "Both of them seem so different than teme."

Sakura shrugged. "Everyone has different personalities."

Naruto nodded, though he wasn't really paying attention. He was glad the two interrupted when they did. It was a good distraction to give Sakura from her negatives thoughts.

"Anyway, I have to go train with Gai-sensei. Do you want to come?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know." Naruto replied.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Look, just come with me. He is really nice, though a bit strange. I'm sure he won't turn you away. I mean, Shikamaru's parents didn't turn your away and neither did Chōji's. Not everyone hates you as much as you think. So get off that stool and come train with me. Maybe we can spar later too."

"Alright, alright." Naruto said. "Sheesh, you are getting more forceful the longer I hang around with you."

Sakura grinned at him. "Well, someone's got to set you straight."

**A/N: Taichou- Captain **

**Please Review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing!**

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Inner"**

**The Residing Void**

**Chapter 6**

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!"

The pink haired girl looked up from where she was sitting on the swing at the academy to smile at her blond friend racing towards her with a forehead protector in his hand.

"I passed!" Naruto cheered when he reached her and he launched himself at her.

Surprised at his charging, Sakura let go of the swing as Naruto slammed into her. Both of them went toppling backwards, but Naruto didn't notice as he was too busy hugging his friend. Even if he didn't notice, Sakura did as she was the one who slammed into the hard ground and had a heavy blond idiot on top of her.

"That's great, Naruto." Sakura said, twitching. "Now, get off of me!" She slammed her fist into Naruto's face to send him flying. With herself free of a certain idiot, Sakura gracefully stood up and dusted herself off.

From his place on the ground, Naruto groaned and rubbed his cheek. "As violent as ever, eh, Sakura-chan?" He mumbled. Jumping to his feet, he grinned, forgetting his pain. "Want to go get ramen to celebrate?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You don't need a reason to celebrate to get ramen. Anyways, I can't. I told Kurenai-san I would come back after my test. Maybe tomorrow, kay?"

Naruto looked upset for a moment before he grinned and nodded. "Okay, Sakura-chan."

Smiling at him, Sakura ran passed him to the gate of the academy. As she was running she noticed her friends waving at her. She waved back, but didn't stop even as Ino yelled at her to come back. She didn't want to interrupt their time with their families.

Without missing a step, Sakura jumped and landed on the roof of the closest building to her. She ran across it and jump to the next building. A grin overtook her lips as she was flying through the air. And to think that four years, Kakashi doing the same thing with her on his back scared her so much. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen the silver haired man once since that day. It was almost like he vanished into thin air.

Landing on the next roof, Sakura continued the process of jumping from building to building until she reached Kurenai-san's apartment. She dropped to the ground and entered through the door, like a normal person. She didn't understand why some ninjas felt the need to enter and leave through windows.

When she entered the apartment she found Kurenai sitting in the living room, reading a book. "Welcome back, Sakura."

"Thanks. I made Genin." Sakura said, pointing at the headband she had tired around her forehead.

Kurenai looked up from the book and smiled. "I knew you could do it."

Sakura laughed. "I had to. I mean, if I failed, all the training for the past four years would have just been incredibly pointless and sad."

Smiling, Kurenai motioned for the girl to sit by her. "So did your friends make it as well?"

Sakura nodded. "They all did, even Naruto, which I find a miracle."

"Well, you never let him slacked." Kurenai replied with a grin. "I noticed how you always forced him to train."

"I forced him to study," Sakura corrected. "He likes the training part. So, is there is a reason you asked me to come home after my test?"

Kurenai closed the book. "Well, as you know, I am going to be a leader of one of the squads this year. And as you also know, I cannot be on a squad you're on because how close we have gotten. I would try to keep you safe too much and not give you a chance to grow."

Sakura nodded in understanding.

"So since we might not be able to spend much time together after today, I decided that we would have the rest of the day to ourselves. We can go shopping and out to dinner, alright?" Kurenai asked, red eyes softening as they looked at the girl. She had grown so much in the past four years.

Sakura grinned. "That'd be great. I was hoping to get a new ninja outfit before I started missions."

It was a really fun night. Since they met four years ago, Kurenai and Sakura had become very close. She was the best person in the world, and acted just like an older sister to Sakura. It was a wonderful thing for her to experience since it was the first time she experienced anything like having a family since her memories were stolen. Though she felt the care Kurenai had for her, she still could not bring herself to call Kurenai's apartment her home, nor could she call Konoha her home either. Nothing was home for her. Her home was in her memories. That was the only thing that she could call home right now.

Kurenai understood this when she asked Sakura to start calling the apartment her home as well after she kept hearing her say "Kurenai-san's apartment." And since then, all she has done was show the pink haired girl how much she cared for her and made her comfortable. Which led to girls night out where the older ninja would take her shopping, out to dinner, or to a spa. Sakura really loved those nights. There were times when she could find herself relaxed after a hard day.

The next morning Sakura spun in circle in front of her mirror that was on her bedroom door. True to her word, Kurenai had bought her a new outfit now that she was a real ninja. Her new outfit consisted of dark pink fingerless gloves that stopped a few inches above her wrist, a fishnet tank top with a black tank top over that which stopped a couple inches above her belly button. On her legs were semi-tight black shorts that stopped a few inches above her knees and a pair of black boots with a slight heel that stopped about three inches above her ankles. Her long pink hair was tied back into a ponytail with her bangs going from left to right over her forehead with a few strands falling out of the ponytail to frame her face. With her forehead protector wrapped around her forehead, her bangs covered the symbol so it couldn't be seen.

Deciding she was satisfied, Sakura nodded and headed to the kitchen where Kurenai was just finishing preparing breakfast. "Kurenai-san, what do you think?" Sakura asked. When she had the ninja's attention, she spun around.

Smiling, Kurenai nodded. "You look nice, Sakura."

"But do I look threatening? A good ninja should be intimidating." Sakura asked, but smiled at the compliment, even if that wasn't what she was looking for and Kurenai knew that.

Red eyes stared at the pink haired girl for a moment before a smile tugged at her lips once more. "Sakura, it will take a lot for you to be intimidating with your pink hair and bright green eyes."

Sakura pouted. "That's not fair. You look so pretty with your black hair and red eyes, yet you can be so intimidating as well."

Kurenai just laughed and set a plate of dango on the table, drawing Sakura's eyes to it. "Dango?"

"Your favorite, right?" Kurenai replied, smirking. "In congratulations of your first day as a Genin."

Forgetting why she was upset, Sakura cheered and lunged at the table to get to the sweet. "You spoil me!" She said between bites of dango.

Kurenai chuckled and took some dango for herself. "Well, be prepared to lose it. Now that you are a ninja, I will no longer be buying you everything you need nor will I give you everything you want anymore."

The girl paused in her devouring of her sweets to frown. "Aww, how mean."

***Academy***

"Sasuke-kun!"

In his seat, Sasuke felt his brow twitch in annoyance at the group of girls squealing his name. Why did they have to bother him so much? Didn't they have anything better to do?

Naruto, who was leaning against one of the desks in the front of the room, looked away from the door to look at Sasuke, who was staring ahead and not at the girls crying out his name. _'Humph, acting as cool as ever. What is so great about Sasuke anyway that has all the girls throwing themselves at him?' _

"Geez, they are being so loud. Troublesome girls." A lazy voice said from behind Naruto.

Naruto looked down at Shikamaru, who was half-asleep at his desk with Chōji munching on chips next to him.

"You should be used to it by now." Chōji commented between bites.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Girls will always be annoying." A thoughtful look passed over his face while Naruto looked ready to yell at him. "Except Sakura. The rest are annoying."

"I wonder where she is. She is going to be late at this rate." Naruto said, glancing back at the classroom door.

"You know Sakura. If she's not early, she is coming in right before she would be considered late." Kiba replied, grinning as he thought about the fiery pink haired girl. He truly enjoyed spending time with her. She had a fiery spirit and didn't mind getting dirty in their fooling around. Though, she did have a thing about the four of them skipping class and put it down to a minimal the best she could. Honestly, Kiba thought that Iruka-sensei was showing her favoritism since she was able to get the four most rambunctious boys to behave and attend class more then they usually did.

"Sasuke-kun, can I sit next to you?"

"No, I'm sitting next to Sasuke-kun!"

"Get out of the way. He likes me better!"

Frowning, Naruto looked at the horde of rabid fangirls as Sakura liked to call them. They were fighting, practically tooth and nail to get the sit next to Sasuke. _'Seriously, what is so great about him?'_

Before Kiba, Shikamaru, or Chōji could realize what was going on, Naruto was gone from their group.

"Naruto! What are you doing? Get away from Sasuke-kun."

Hearing Ino's annoyingly loud voice, the three boys that were left behind looked over at Sasuke to see Naruto kneeling on Sasuke's desk and having a glaring contest with him.

***With Jōnin***

"So, these are the new Genin for this year." Kurenai said amused as she and the other Jōnin stood in front of their Hokage, who was watching the new Genin in his crystal ball.

"They seem to be a rambunctious crowd this year." Kakashi said without looking up from his book.

"It always is when there is an Uchiha. They just can't seem to keep the females away from them." Sarutobi said with a chuckle.

The group watched as the boy in front of Sasuke's desk pushed his chair back quickly, which knocked Naruto forward and caused him to press his lips to Sasuke's.

"Rambunctious indeed." Asuma said with a smirk.

"Naruto is always getting himself into the thick of trouble." Sarutobi said with an amused sigh.

***Classroom***

Sakura swung the classroom door open in time to see Naruto press his lips to Sasuke's. For a moment she stood there in shock before her senses overcame her.

"Oh my!" Sakura shouted, eyes widening. "Sasuke, Naruto, I had no idea you two were gay for each other. How tragic. All of Sasuke's suitors will be terribly upset."

***With Jōnin***

Kurenai smirked at the girl's smart ass remark.

At this, Kakashi did look up from his book. "Kurenai, what have you been teaching her? I don't recall her being so witty when I met her four years ago. In fact, she was quite polite and sweet."

The only female Jōnin in the room smirked. "I didn't teach her this. I think it comes from the fact that most of her friends are boys."

Kakashi sighed. "How sad. I really liked the sweet girl I met."

***Classroom***

Naruto and Sasuke ripped themselves away from each. Both of them grabbed their throats and coughed.

"No!" Naruto cried through his coughs. "This isn't what it looks like, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura frowned sympathetically at him. "Oh, Naruto, you don't have to hide the truth from me. I'll accept you no matter what your preferences are. I am more surprised that Sasuke returns your feelings or that you would be go for the broody type. Well, they do say opposites attract. Though, you might be moving a bit too fast."

"You are misunderstanding the whole situation!" Naruto cried frantically.

"Are you crazy, girl?" Sasuke growled disgusted.

Sakura shrugged. "I'm just saying, Sasuke. I mean, you have never shown any interest in girls so it only makes sense." She tapped her chin thoughtfully and cast her eyes to the ceiling. "I can't believe I never thought of it before."

For a moment, Sasuke felt his jaw slacken as if he was going to gape at her, but he stopped himself before he could. There was no way he would do that. Uchihas do not gape! "I like girls, Sakura!"

"Denial, denial, denial." Sakura said, shaking her head sadly. "Sasuke–"

Oh, no, he would not allow this girl to mock him anymore! Sasuke disappeared from his seat and reappeared in front of Sakura before she could process it. In a flash, he grabbed her arms and pulled her to him. He smashed his lips on to her, freezing the girl in place in shock while the other Genin stared in shock or anger.

To her shock, she realized that even though the kiss was rough and unpracticed, Sasuke's lips were so soft and inviting. _'No. Bad Sakura. Sasuke is the enemy here! Do not enjoy.'_

"**No, enjoy! Don't let him go! Smother him with your lips all over."**

'_Oh, great! The voice is back! Go away voice. Bad timing!' _

***With Jōnin***

"This has got to be one of the best shows I have seen in a long time." Genma said as he failed to hide his laughter.

_Sakura shrugged. "I'm just saying, Sasuke. I mean, you have never shown any interest in girls so it only makes sense. I can't believe I never thought of it before." _

"_I like girls, Sakura!"_

"_Denial, denial, denial." Sakura said, shaking her head sadly. "Sasuke–"_

_Sasuke disappeared from his seat and in front of Sakura before she could process it. In a flash, he grabbed her arms and pulled her to him. He smashed his lips on to her._

Kurenai growled. "That boy just stole my sister's first kiss!" Some of the Jōnin gave her subtle looks at the term sister, but didn't question it. She was the girl's guardian, so they were bound to get attached, but none of them realized it would go that deep.

Sarutobi chuckled. "Rambunctious indeed. Think you can handle your team, Kakashi?"

"You seem to have given me the three craziest Genin of the year." Kakashi said dryly.

***Classroom***

Sasuke pulled away with Sakura, wearing a smirk. "I like girls, Sakura. You'll do well to remember that."

And for once, Sakura was stuck in a daze, unsure of how to respond.

"Sakura!" Many angry female voices shouted.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto shouted angrily, jumping up to stand on his desk. "How dare you kiss Sakura-chan?"

Blinking, Sakura looked from the rabid fangirls who looked ready to tear her limb from limb, to Sasuke, to Naruto. She had contemplating waiting until the last minute to arrive to class today, but decided against it since it was her first day as a Genin. That was her first mistake. Her second mistake was teasing the boys about an accidental kiss.

Yes, she knew it was entirely accidental.

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke hissed, moving back to his seat. "I just gave you an indirect kiss with your _Sakura-chan_."

"A kiss?" Naruto said dreamily. He had gotten a kiss with Sakura! Even if it was an indirect one, but that wasn't the point!

***Jōnin* **

"So basically everyone on my team got a kiss with each other today?" Kakashi summarized.

"Seems that way. They are quite youthful, as Gai would say." Asuma said, smirking.

Kurenai, meanwhile, was giving the crystal ball a very nasty glare that no one thought she was capable of. "How dare that Uchiha! Oh, I will teach him not to touch my sister inappropriately!"

"Don't you think you're overreacting?" Genma asked, grinning. "I mean, it only lasted a few seconds and she didn't even return it. At least it wasn't taken by a pervert."

"Or on a mission where she was undercover." Kakashi suggested.

Kurenai paused for a second before frowning and turning her glare to Kakashi. "You better not let any boy touch my sister inappropriately or I'll castrate you!"

Kakashi's single eye widened. Why did he have to deal with the craziest of the bunch?

***Classroom***

"His?" Sakura hissed, snapping at of her shock, but didn't get any farther when she felt many evil stares burning into her. Glancing at the rabid fangirls, she shivered. "HE KISSED ME! AND IF YOU'RE MAD, NARUTO STARTED IT!"

"Huh?" Naruto twitched when the stares turned to him. "Sakura-chan, you traitor!" He managed to cry before he had to start jumping around to avoid getting killed by fangirls.

Laughter drew attention to the other three boys that were Sakura's friends. "It is never a dull day when you are around, Sakura." Kiba cried, wiping a tear away from his eye.

"Um, Sakura-chan?"

At the quiet voice, Sakura turned to her second girl friend, Hinata, who was sitting at a desk near the front of the room. "Yes, my dear Hinata?" She asked, stilling standing at the front of the classroom.

"Naruto and Sasuke, were you serious?" Hinata asked shyly. Through her years of friendship with Sakura, her confidence had grown a bit where she didn't stutter anymore, but she was still shy at times.

"Of course not." Sakura replied, grinning. "I was teasing, but Sasuke took it a bit too far!"

Sasuke snorted. "You took it too far, Sakura."

"You just can't take a joke!" Sakura retorted, pointing a finger at him.

"It didn't sound like a joke." Shikamaru pointed out lazily.

"Which makes it all the better!" Sakura cried, pumping a fist in the air.

"You still can't be forgiven." A deadly voice suddenly said.

Gulping, Sakura looked around to see Ino glaring at her. "He kissed me! It was unwilling. It lasted like three seconds! I didn't return it!" She protested. "I don't even like him like that!"

Ino pointed a finger in her face. "This is not over."

Sakura sweat dropped. So not fair. "But Ino…" She whined. "I'm just an innocent victim."

The blond snorted. "The day you are innocent…" She trailed off and smiled at her friend. "Forget that. You seem to finally be developing a cute style."

Sakura blinked.

"Your new outfit, it's cute and looks nice on you." Ino clarified.

The pink haired girl's mouth formed into a small 'o.'

"But don't think that you are safe after that kiss from Sasuke." Ino added in a deadly voice.

Sakura twitched. Today just wasn't her day!

***With Jōnin***

"Most rambunctious group of Genin ever." Sarutobi said with another sigh.

"The biggest surprise is the Uchiha's behavior. Surely he was raised to behave differently than this?" Kakashi asked, watching the scene with hidden interest.

Sarutobi chuckled. "From what Iruka-sensei has informed me, Sakura's appearance in their class four years ago shook things up a bit. While Naruto and Sasuke are rivals, Sakura sees Sasuke as an enemy of sorts. They have a thing about challenging each other apparently."

"And you saw fit to put these three on the same team, why?" Kurenai asked interested and a bit worriedly. At this rate, it didn't seem the three would pass their test.

"It is because of their rivalries that they complement each other so well." Sarutobi replied amused.

***Classroom***

Sakura dropped in the seat next to Hinata with Naruto claiming the seat on the other side of her. Curious, Sakura looked over her shoulder to see Ino had claimed the seat next to Sasuke. Hopefully that would calm her down so she wouldn't kill her later for the kiss.

Iruka stood in front of the class, smiling at them. "As of today, you are all ninja. You all faced difficult trials and hardships to reach this point. As hard as all that was, it was nothing compared to what is to come next, which will be much more difficult. Now you are only Genin, first level ninjas. All Genin will be grouped into three men squads."

"Three men squads?" Ino echoed.

Sakura perked up, smirking once more. "Three men? Then that means, one of you lovely ladies might get a chance to be with your _oh-so-sexy-Sasuke-kun._"

Iruka raised a brow as he looked at the list in his hand and where Sakura's name was next to Sasuke's and Naruto's. This should be interesting.

"Um, what about you, Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked.

"Ha! Hell will freeze over before I join Sasuke's team!" Sakura shouted, fire practically burning around her. And it was true. Whenever they had team exercises, she stubbornly avoided being on the Uchiha's team, even going as far to skip class if she couldn't get out of it.

***With Jōnin***

"Anyone know a Jutsu to freeze hell?" Genma asked sarcastically.

The moment Iruka entered the room, Kakashi had gone back to reading his book, but glanced up at this. "Well, this will certainly be interesting." He said. "At this rate, I do not believe they will pass."

"You never pass anyone." Asuma pointed out.

"And I don't see that changing anytime soon."

***Classroom***

"Each squad will be led by a Jōnin, an elite ninja. We want each squad to have a balance of strengths and abilities. That's how we set them up. I will now announce the squads." Iruka continued, deciding it was best to just ignore the eager females. "I will name the teams now."

Sakura zoned out, listening to each team being named, but not once hearing her name. Not like it matter. All of the people named weren't her friends. She really hoped to be put in a squad with her friends. It would make things easier to adjust.

"Team Seven: Naruto Uzumaki."

At his name, Naruto perked up and listened more carefully. _'I really hope Sakura-chan is on my team.'_

"Sakura."

Sakura looked up.

"YES!" Naruto cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "We're on the same team, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura grinned at him. "Awesome. At least I am not stuck with an annoying jerk."

Ino snickered. "I feel sorry for your sensei."

"And Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka finished, and fell quiet for the ensuring madness that was sure to follow.

And he was not disappointed as the hellish chaos began.

"WHAT?!" Naruto, Sakura….and Sasuke(?) shouted.

"NO FAIR!" The girls screamed.

"What…What is this madness?" Sakura demanded as she stood up and slammed a hand on the desk.

"I should be the one on Sasuke-kun's team!" Ami screamed. She shot a nasty glare at Sakura. "_Not her._"

Kiba started laughing. He really wanted to be on Sakura's team, but…"Hey, Sakura, I think hell just froze over!" He would enjoy this in any way he could.

"Curse you hell!" Sakura cried to the ceiling. "Why have you chosen now to betray me?!"

"You make it sound like you came from hell." Shikamaru said in a bored tone.

Naruto jumped to his feet and pointed at the annoyed Uchiha. "Why do I have to be on a team with that teme?"

"What was that, dobe?" Sasuke growled, climbing to his own feet to have a glaring contest with the blonde.

Iruka sighed. "I don't make the teams."

"Well, who does?" Sakura demanded. "I want a word with him!"

After a moment of contemplating, Iruka sighed. He couldn't really refuse to tell the girl. It wasn't really a secret. "The Hokage does."

Green eyes narrowed. "I'll be sure to speak with him later. Stupid sadistic man that he is!"

***Jōnin***

Genma grinned. "A twelve year old just insulted you, sir."

"What a brave little girl she is." Sarutobi chuckled.

"I'm sorry about her, Hokage-sama. She gets like this when she has sugar." Kurenai apologized.

"You gave her sugar?" Asuma asked, raising a brow.

Kurenai shrugged. "It's a special day so I thought, why not?"

"Is there something I should know?" Kakashi asked.

"Limit Sakura's sugar intake." Asuma told him since he and Kurenai trained together a lot, he has met Sakura quite a few times. He really liked the girl, but she was really strange with a lot of sugar in her system. Hilarious, but strange.

***Classroom***

"As do I!" Ino growled. "Pinky doesn't deserve to be on Sasuke-kun's team!"

A slight twitch entered Sakura's eye as she turned to her blond friend. "Don't call me that!" She snarled.

"Or what, Pinky?" Ino taunted.

"I will send you to the depths of the now frozen hell where instead of burning for an eternity you shall freeze for an eternity!" Sakura cried dramatically.

'_Hn, she is losing her mind.'_ Sasuke thought, actually quite amused by this. He would never admit it, but Sakura was a pretty good ninja. She could be quite helpful. And though he would die before admitting this, Naruto had his skills as well, even if he was a bit dumber than him and Sakura.

Iruka coughed into his hand. "Sakura, could you please reel yourself in? And did you happen to have any sugar this morning?"

Sakura shot one more death glare at her friend before turning back around and smiling. "Why, yes I did, Iruka-sensei. Kurenai-san made me dangos for breakfast!"

Iruka sighed. He really shouldn't be surprised.

"Teme, I think we should keep Sakura-chan away from sugar now that we are a team." Naruto commented a bit nervously. Sakura-chan plus sugar really scared him.

'_Couldn't agree more, dobe.' _

"Hn," Sasuke said out loud.

Sighing, Iruka looked back at his list. "Team Seven, your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake."

"Kakashi-san?" Sakura perked up. "Yeah! The old man is our leader!"

***Jōnin***

Kakashi glanced up from his book. "Did she just call me old?"

Kurenai smirked. "Sorry about her. She has become a real smart alec since you last saw her."

Unknown to everyone else, the silver haired man smirked. "I'm going to enjoy testing these brats."

'_Poor kids.'_

***Classroom***

"Team bonding!" Sakura cheered as she snatched Sasuke's wrist before he could escape to eat lunch in peace. He shot her a glare, but she just smiled. "Come on, Sasuke. We are a team now. Let's just eat lunch together. You don't hate us that much, do you?"

Behind her, Naruto scowled. He didn't want to go to lunch with this prick. He was so silent and only cared about being the best.

"Hn."

Satisfied, Sakura nodded. "Thank you."

'_Since when does 'Hn' mean yes?' _Both Sasuke and Naruto thought in annoyance.

With Sakura dragging both boys, she didn't notice them shooting glares at each other behind her back.

**A/N: This is not necessarily a Sasuke/Sakura story. The pairing is still undecided.**

**I was in a strange mood when I wrote this chapter...**

**Please Review! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed!**

**I'm sorry this took a while. Life is hectic at the moment. **

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Inner"**

**The Residing Void**

**Chapter 7**

Sakura bit down hold on the chopsticks she was using as her green orbs shot dirty glares at her teammates. Her teammates who were in the process of burning holes into each other with the amount of electricity traveling between their glares.

"I know you two have an intense rivalry," Sakura started around her chopsticks still resting in her mouth. "But stop with the glaring. You are now teammates so you can't constantly think about killing the other."

Huffing, Naruto crossed his arms and looked at the pink haired girl. "Says who?"

Ripping the chopsticks from her mouth, Sakura pointed them in Naruto's face. "Says the person who is going to punch you both all the way across the village if you don't cut it out with the you-shall-die-by-my-ultimate-glare contest."

All pretense of stubbornness disappeared from Naruto's figure to be replaced by nervousness. "Uh….and would said person happen to be you, Sakura-chan?"

Green eyes narrowed. "What do you think, Na-ru-to-kun?" Her eyes snapped to Sasuke. "What about you, Sa-su-ke-kun?"

Both boys tensed. Sakura never ever used –kun on anyone's name unless she was severely upset or angry. And judging by lack of tears and the way her green eyes were narrowed and shifting between them dangerously, they were led to believe that, of course, she was angry. Even Sasuke who only ever associated with her at the academy learned this particular fact since he had a tendency to anger the girl in their classes, particular the ones that pitted them to be in teams and try to capture the other team's flag and get it back to base.

"B-but Sakura-chan," Naruto protested. "It was Teme's fault! He knocked the salt into my food."

Sasuke scowled at him. "It's not like I did it on purpose, dobe."

Naruto snorted. "I'm not going to buy that for a second, teme."

"I don't have a personal vendetta against you." Sasuke snapped, shooting another glare at the blond.

Sakura's eye twitched. The Hokage must have a twisted sense of humor to put the three of them together. Or maybe he had a personal vendetta against her or maybe one of the other two! Glancing at the two arguing boys, Sakura decided the personal vendetta was one of their faults. She had been nothing but an innocent girl since she arrived here.

Nodding in satisfaction at her conclusion, Sakura sent a fist flying into each boy's face. "Knock it off!" She shouted as they flew out of their seats. Happy for the silence, Sakura turned back to her meal.

"As violent as ever." Naruto groaned before turning his head to look at Sasuke. "I can't believe she hit you too."

Sasuke shot the blond a glare before righting himself. There was no way that he could survive being on a team with a dobe and a very temperamental girl. Why did he have to be on a team anyway? What was the point of this?

***After lunch***

"And then there was one." Naruto complained, glaring at the clock on the wall. "He's late! Why is it only our sensei that is late?"

"Because this is a screwed up team so the sensei obviously has to be messed up as well." Sakura replied, grinning as she hopped onto the teacher's desk for her seat.

"I understand why you only met our sensei once now." Sasuke said, smirking from his desk before he could stop himself.

"And what does that mean?" Sakura demanded.

"If you don't know," Sasuke shot her an irritating smirk. "I'm not explaining."

Sakura raised a brow. "Are you teasing me?" She said shocked.

"Teme teasing?" Naruto questioned. He jumped on top of a desk and pointed a finger at Sasuke. "Who are you and what have you done with Sasuke?"

"Dobe." Sasuke said.

"Aww, is Sasuke having a change of heart for us already?" Sakura teased, grinning a bit once more.

Sasuke shot her a glare. Even if he didn't hate the two, they weren't his friends either so what was going on? It wasn't like him to tease someone just for fun like this, especially since they never saw each other outside the academy. He only had the two happy goofballs to blame for this it seems.

"This will teach him."

Hearing the blond of their team muttering, Sakura and Sasuke broke their staring contest to see Naruto standing on a desk by the door and putting an eraser between the door and the wall.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura asked blandly.

"I'm teaching our sensei that he shouldn't be late!" Naruto said with an evil grin.

Sasuke scoffed. "Our sensei is a Jōnin. He won't fall for something as childish as that."

A few moments later, a silver haired man pushed the door open wider and stuck his head in, only to have the eraser hit him, which resulted in the kids staring at him in silent shock before Naruto started laughing.

'_You're kidding? He actually fell for it?' _Sasuke thought incredulously.

"**SCORE!" **Sakura rubbed her head in annoyance. What was that stupid voice? Although, she did agree with the voice. It was a very nice shot.

"My first impression of you guys," Kakashi said, eye sweeping over all three of them in annoyance. "I hate you all, especially you, Pinky. I am not old."

"Don't call me–" Sakura paused and blinked, staring in shock at her sensei. "Hey, how did you know I called you old?"

"Meet on the roof. You have five minutes." Kakashi said before proofing away.

"Hey! You can't just ignore my question!" Sakura screamed at the ceiling before running out of the classroom to get to the roof.

The two boys left in the room blinked.

"Sakura-chan is really losing it today." Naruto commented.

Sasuke nodded in agreement.

Kakashi leaned against the fence on the roof, taking in the three in front of him. They were sitting on the stairs, watching him curiously. The only female of the team sat between the two boys. "Let's start with you introducing yourselves, one at a time." He said, crossing his arms lazily.

"Introduce ourselves?" Naruto asked confused. "What do we say?"

"Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies. Anything like that." Kakashi replied.

"Hn, why don't you begin?" Sasuke retorted.

"Me?" Kakashi replied, pointing to himself. "Well, I'm Kakashi Hatake. I have many things I like and many things I hate. For my dreams of the future, well, I've never thought about. And for my hobbies, that is none of your business."

'_How useless.' _The three Genin thought annoyed.

"You, blondie. You're up." Kakashi said.

"Believe it! My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like instant ramen in a cup, hanging with my friends, training with Sakura-chan. I dislike the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen, a certain black haired teme." Naruto shot a mocking grin at Sasuke. "And anyone who tries to hurt Sakura-chan." Sakura blushed a bit and ducked her head. She would never get used to Naruto's protective streak, but maybe that was her fault for angering the rabid fangirls. "My hobbies are hanging with my friends, training, pranks, and fighting Sasuke-teme. My dream is to be the greatest Hokage this village has ever seen cause then everyone will have to stop disrespecting me and recognize me!"

There was a slight twitch to Kakashi's eye from surprise. _'Well, that is quite interesting. He has grown up quite a bit and has made good friendships and rivalries. That will surely keep him going.'_

Naruto took a glance at Sakura. "Oh, and I have a goal to help Sakura find the person who took her memories and help her get them back!"

Sakura shot a bright grin at Naruto.

'_Very interesting. They are already trying to help each other.' _Kakashi thought, now intrigued by this group.

"Next, blackie." Kakashi said.

Sasuke shot him a glare. "My name, Sasuke Uchiha. I like training with Aniki and tomatoes. I dislike sweets, fangirls, and annoying blondes." A smirk was shot at Naruto, who glared back at him. "My hobbies are training, taking walks, and protecting Sakura from my rabid fangirls who seem to really hate her." A vicious mocking grin was shot at Sakura, who huffed and crossed her arms. It was only a few times, damn it! "My dream is to one day best my brother in combat. And my goal is to surpass my clan and make a name for myself so I am no longer known by their titles."

'_So, the Uchiha is searching for independence from his clan. That's surprising, considering he is an heir. What made him want independence? And not to mention that he already has some form of attachment to his teammates, even if it isn't exactly friendship.' _Kakashi thought, very interested with this team now. Perhaps they did have potential as a team. That would just make the Third right. _'And protecting Sakura from rabid fangirls? What did she do to get them wanting her head? Foolish girl. Everyone knows not to anger the fangirls.' _

"Wow." Naruto said, staring at Sasuke.

Sakura nodded, eyes wide.

"What?" Sasuke asked irritated.

"That." Naruto shared a look with Sakura.

"Yeah." Sakura nodded. "Most definitely."

Sasuke glared at them. "What are you two idiots talking about?"

Naruto and Sakura grinned at him. "That has got to be the most you ever said at once." They said together.

Sasuke's eye really did twitch now. "I hate you both."

The two smiling goofballs just laughed at that.

'_These three are so strange…' _Kakashi thought.

"And finally, Pinkie." He said out loud.

Sakura frowned. "You know my name, Kakashi-sensei."

"Sorry, but I've seem to have forgotten it over the years." Kakashi replied.

The girl huffed. "Lies!"

"So?" Naruto prompted, nudging her shoulder.

"Humph, fine." Sakura said and she grinned once more. "My name is Sakura. Last name, unknown. I like dango, training with my friends, hanging with my friends, and arguing with Sasuke."

'_Who the hell likes arguments?' _Naruto and Sasuke thought amused.

"I dislike those who pick on others, especially if there is no good reason for it! I also dislike arrogant jerks who think they are better than everyone else. I hate being called Pinky. My hobbies are training, hanging with friends, solving puzzles, and hunting down an Uchiha called Shisui that I met four years ago. I haven't found him once since our second encounter four years ago, but I am going to find him and make him say my name instead of that damn nickname he gave me!" Sakura declared passionately, causing her teammates and sensei to sweat drop.

"If you are looking for my cousin, you should have just told me." Sasuke said blankly.

Sakura huffed. "There is no satisfaction in it if you lead me to him."

"But you haven't found him in four years." Sasuke argued.

"I'm taking it slowly!" Sakura declared.

'_Dear kami, I think my kunoichi is insane. When I told her to make new memories and have fun, I didn't mean something like this.' _Kakashi thought blankly. He had thought she would always turn out darker and being upset over her lost memories.

Sakura coughed. "Anyway, I don't have a dream, but a goal. My goal is to find the jerk who put this memory seal on me and get it removed."

'_Ah, there is the dark part of her.' _Kakashi thought.

"Well, you are all unique in your own way it seems." Kakashi said out loud. "We'll have our first mission tomorrow."

"YES!" Naruto cheered excitedly. "What kind of mission is it?"

"It's a task that requires the four us to do together." Kakashi replied.

"That doesn't tell us what it is." Sasuke muttered.

"It is a survival exercise." Kakashi said.

"Eh, what?" Naruto asked, frowning. "But we did those in the academy."

Sakura nodded. "This doesn't sound like a real mission. It's just training."

"This is different from your academy training." Kakashi replied calmly.

"How is that?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi chuckled darkly, surprising his three students.

"What's so funny?" Sakura demanded.

Kakashi lazily waved a hand. "You won't like the answer."

Sasuke frowned. "You're going to tell us either way, so just say it already."

"Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine of them will actually be accepted as Genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. This is a make it or break it, pass or fail, test. You have a 66 percent of failure." Kakashi explained.

"WHAT?!" Naruto and Sakura shouted angrily.

'_Damn it, I can't fail, not here. I don't want to waste another year at the academy!'_ Sakura thought as she bit on her lip. She needed to get out there and get better training if she was going to find her prey.

"Then what's the graduation test for?" Naruto demanded.

"That? Oh that was just to select candidates who might become Genin." Kakashi explained in a lazy tone. "Or not."

"That's not fair! Believe it!" Naruto cried.

"That's how it is. I decide whether you fail or not." Kakashi replied, ignoring Naruto.

'_There's no way I'm going back to the academy for another year. I need real training and experience if I want to make a name for myself.' _Sasuke thought.

"Meet at the designated training spot at five a.m and bring your ninja gear." Kakashi said, looking at each of his kids in turn.

'_I won't be weeded out. People are going to look up to one day. I will pass and show them all! Believe it!' _Naruto thought determined.

"That's all. You're dismissed." Kakashi said, turning around to leave before he paused. "Oh, tomorrow you'll want to skip breakfast or you'll puke."

With that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind three shocked Genin.

The three sat in silence for a moment before Sasuke stood up. Seeing him walk away, Naruto flew to his feet. "Hey Teme, wait! How about we all go out for dinner?"

Sasuke froze in his spot and Sakura looked up in shock. "You're actually inviting Sasuke?" She said astounded.

"Well," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Why not? I'm mean you said it yourself, team bonding?"

Sasuke smirked. It seemed that the blond idiot just wanted to follow Sakura's advice. "Sorry, dobe. I'm expected home for dinner."

Naruto pouted.

"I'll come, Naruto." Sakura said, smiling at her friend. "But I have to find Kurenai-san first to tell her I won't be back at her place for dinner. She gets mad if I don't inform her beforehand."

Sasuke frowned at her words _"at her place." _Shouldn't Sakura being calling it her home? It was where she was living for the past four years. It should be her home by now. Deciding not to bother her, he turned back to Naruto. "Maybe some other time, dobe."

"I'll hold you to that, Teme." Naruto said.

Smiling, Sakura rested her elbow on her knee and put her chin on her hand. "You guys have such a strange relationship. I can't tell if you guys really hate each other or not."

Sasuke smirked at her. "That's something you'll have to figure out on your own." He started to walk away, holding a hand up as he did. "See ya."

"He could at least face us when he says bye." Naruto grumbled before turning to his friend with a grin. "Ramen it is!"

"What? You're not even going to ask me where I want to go?" Sakura asked as she stood up and they began to leave. "You such a ramen obsessed freak."

Naruto just laughed as he crossed his hands behind his head with none of them noticing the single dark eye that watched them from a few roofs over. _'There seem like a good pair of comrades, but let's see if they know how to work together.' _

***Uchiha's residence***

"Just in time for dinner, Sasuke." Mikoto greeted cheerfully when her youngest entered the house.

Sasuke nodded and went to his designated seat at the table, which was to the right of his elder brother. "Hello Aniki. I thought you weren't supposed to be back for another few days."

"We finished our mission early." Itachi replied, giving his brother a small smile.

Nodding to his brother, Sasuke looked up at his father, who was sitting at the head of the table. "Father," He greeted.

Fugaku turned his gaze to his youngest. "Sasuke, I heard you were assigned your teams today."

"Ah, that's right!" Mikoto said excitedly as she finished putting the food on the table. "Who did you get, Sasuke?"

"I got Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura." Sasuke told her as he began to put food on his plate.

Mikoto looked up with a smile. "Ah, the orphan duo you are always telling us about."

Sasuke nodded. "Our sensei is Kakashi Hatake."

"Kakashi?" Itachi asked, frowning.

Noticing the frown, Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Yes, why? Is there a problem with him?"

Itachi shrugged. "Just that he has never once passed one of his squads before. They always fail."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed to slits. "Then it's about time that someone passed his test. Failure is not an option."

'_Then you better learn the true meaning of your test quickly.' _Itachi thought with a smirk.

"I have an idea." Mikoto suddenly said, drawing the three males to look back at her. "When your team passes your test tomorrow, you should invite them over for dinner. I would love to get to know the two you are always complaining about."

"Don't you mean if they pass?" Itachi said blandly.

Sasuke blinked. "If? You doubt me? For shame, Aniki, for shame."

"Do not doubt your brother, Itachi. He will pass." Mikoto said determinedly. "If he doesn't, I can't meet Naruto or Sakura. And you know I really want to meet Sakura." She glared at her sons. "I want a daughter in all this male madness."

Sasuke gulped and leaned back in his seat.

Itachi leaned over to whisper to his brother. "I think even if you fail, you should at least bring Sakura here to meet Mother. Just to give her that daughter she has been dreaming of so she doesn't kill us."

The younger of the two nodded fearfully. Their mother was a very kind and caring woman, but could be quite scary when angered or upset. She was not one that someone would want to meet in a dark alley when she was pissed off.

Sasuke turned to face his brother to escape his mother's stare. "Aniki, you might want to tell Shisui that Sakura has been trying to hunt him down for four years."

Itachi looked up from his dinner with a smirk. "He already knows, which is why she hasn't found him. He thinks her frustrated look when she can't find him is cute."

Sasuke looked at his brother in shock. "He's been teasing her by hiding for four years? That's a bit cruel."

The older of the two shrugged. "Do you wish for me to invite him over tomorrow so we can watch Sakura beat him up for avoiding her for four years?"

A cruel amused look entered Sasuke's eyes. "I would love that. It's always more fun to watch her beat others up."

"Now who is the cruel one?" Itachi teased.

"Still Shisui." Sasuke retorted, smirking. "It's so rude to hide from a girl for four years as a joke. He deserves whatever is coming his way."

Itachi shook his head, clearly amused by his brother. Despite how he says he despises Naruto and Sakura, he seems so amused by their antics, even if he tries to hide it. Now that they were on a team, maybe he would learn just what it was like to have friends constantly bothering him.

**A/N: Please Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**A/N: Thanks for reviewing!**

"Talking"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Inner"**

**The Residing Void**

**Chapter 8**

"It's too early for this." Sakura moaned pitifully, collapsing on the ground in the training area.

Naruto and Sasuke looked down at her figure. "Sakura?" The former asked. "Are you sleeping?"

Sakura moaned.

"At least we know she's still alive now." Sasuke commented.

The blond nodded and stepped away from his fallen friend. "Where is Kakashi-sensei anyway?" He grumbled, looking around the training area that was empty except for them. "He better not be late again!"

Rolling his eyes at the blond, Sasuke kneeled down and pulled Sakura up by her arm. Ignoring her protests, he swung her arm over his shoulder and helped her over to a tree to sleep under. After lying her back on the ground, Sasuke sat down and leaned his back against the tree.

"Why'd you do that?" Naruto asked confused.

"So you wouldn't trample her to death in your childish temper tantrums." Sasuke replied, smirking at his blond teammate.

"What was that, teme?!" Naruto shot back, glaring the black haired boy. "I would never hurt Sakura-chan!"

Their glaring contest was cut short by a loud growl, which initiated a blush from Naruto. "Argh, I'm hungry." Naruto moaned, grabbing his stomach.

Sakura groaned, rolling onto her side. "Damn it, Naruto. Why did you have to remind me of my own hungry?"

Sasuke sighed. "You guys didn't eat?"

"Kakashi-sensei said not to. Did you?" Naruto retorted.

Sasuke nodded. "My mom insisted that I did. She also," He reached into his pouch and pulled out two nutrient bars. "Said that my teammates had no one to help them along and to give them these." He waved them at his teammates tauntingly. "But I don't think I will."

"TEME!" Naruto shouted, lunging at his teammate.

Smirking, Sasuke moved quickly, causing Naruto to crash into the tree. "You won't get one that way, dobe." Ignoring the grumbling blond, Sasuke tossed one of them to Sakura, which landed on her head. "There you go, Sakura."

"Oh, thank you very much." Sakura grumbled, pulling the thing off her head.

"Teme," Naruto said.

Sasuke held the last one between two fingers and waved it tauntingly. "You want it? You have to beg for it."

"NEVER!" Naruto screamed, insulted by the very notion of begging for anything from Sasuke.

Munching on her nutrient bar, Sakura listened to the two boys fighting over the nutrient bar. Well, Naruto was fighting for it. Sasuke was just annoying him by not giving it up to Naruto. It was quite amusing to watch the two argue over something as small as a nutrient bar. Though it was strange. Why would Sasuke's mom give them food to eat when they were told not to?

'_Argh, whatever. I'm not complaining. It may not be the most appetizing thing around, but it is conquering my hunger.' _Sakura shoved the rest of her nutrient bar in her mouth as Naruto finally managed to snag his own from Sasuke's hand.

Ignoring her teammates, Sakura fell back to the ground to rest until their sensei showed up. Well, rest as well as she could when she had an annoyed blond idiot complaining every freaking fifteen seconds about their sensei being late. She cared for Naruto deeply. He was a very precious friend to her, but if he didn't shut up soon, she was going to punch him into the nearest enemy land and leave him to suffer.

And the only reason Naruto did not get forsaken to the enemy lands was because somewhere between Naruto's rants and Sasuke's silent nature, she found herself being soothed by it and soon she fell asleep. She swore, when she awoke a couple hours later, that was the only reason he was saved. It was not because she didn't know how to carry out her threats. She was a tough little Genin who wasn't afraid to carry out threats!

"So now that we are all here–" Kakashi said.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WAS LATE!" Naruto and Sakura yelled angrily.

Expertly, Kakashi ignored them, but what none of the Genin saw was the amusement in his eye. "And we are all awake." Pointed stare at Sakura.

Huffing, Sakura caused her arms. "It's your fault for being late." She mumbled to herself.

"Well, let's get started." Kakashi said as he walked over to a post and put down a clock. "This is set for a noon." He held up two silver bells. "The assignment is a very simple one. All you have to do is take these bells from me. If you can't get one by noon, you don't get lunch. You will be tied to those posts, and watch while I eat my lunch in front of you."

'_So that's why we were told not to eat.' _Sasuke thought, frowning. What a cruel trick to pull on kids. _'But, we fooled him. We each ate something.' _

'_Thank you Sasuke's mom!' _Sakura and Naruto thought happily.

***Sasuke's House***

"Mom? Where are my nutrient bars?" Itachi asked, rummaging through the cabinets.

"Oh, I gave them to Sasuke for his teammates. Can't let those poor dears starve." Mikoto said cheerfully, smiling at her son.

Itachi blinked. "You're helping them cheat." He really should inform someone, like Kakashi, but he really didn't want to face his mother's wrath. Yes, the big bad ANBU Captain was scared of angering his mother. Well, they do say hell has no fury like a woman scorned.

Mikoto grinned, but to Itachi it looked like an evil grin. "I can't let them fail. If they do, I'll never get to meet Sakura and get my daughter!"

"I think you are supposed to be more concerned about your son." The ANBU captain sweat dropped. _'I feel sorry for you, Sakura.' _

"I don't think they need help." Itachi said, smirking. _'I need more nutrient bars now.'_

***Team 7***

"Um, Sensei, there are three of us. You only have two bells." Sakura pointed out.

Kakashi chuckled darkly again. "Well, that is because one of you will ultimately fail and get tied to a post and sent back to the academy. But, of course, there is always the possibility that all three of you can fail as well. You can use any weapon you want. If you aren't prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells."

"That seems a bit dangerous." Sakura said worriedly.

Naruto laughed, locking his hands behind his head. "Yeah, especially since you can't even dodge an eraser."

"Class clowns are usually the weakest. You can ignore them safely." Kakashi said, staring at the blond, who now glared at him. "You may begin when I say start."

Angrily, Naruto snatched a kunai out of his weapons pouch. He spun it around on his finger before grasping it tightly and charging at Kakashi. The Jōnin just sidestepped the attack while at the same time grabbing Naruto's wrist and twisting his arm behind him so the kunai was pointed at his head.

'_So fast.' _Sasuke thought.

"I did not say start yet." Kakashi informed the struggling Naruto. "But you did come at me with the full intent to kill, so, I guess I am starting to like you guys." He released Naruto and threw him back to his comrades.

"Now."

Sakura felt herself tense up, eyes trained on her sensei. There was no way she was going to fail this test.

"Begin."

***Itachi***

"I hear the Uzumaki kid and Cherry Blossom are your brother's teammates." Shisui commented during their training.

Itachi raised a brow, but didn't stop his pushups. "Where did you hear that from?"

Shisui shrugged, grinning evilly as he twirled a kunai around his finger. "The fangirls are very loud with their complaints. Cherry seems to be in a lot of danger from them."

"She always is. Sasuke has made it a hobby of his to save her from rabid fangirls." Itachi replied.

The elder Uchiha snickered.

Itachi paused in his pushups. "That reminds me. You are coming over for dinner tonight."

"Is that an order, Taichou?" Shisui asked sarcastically.

"It will be if I have to make it be." Itachi retorted, going back to his pushups.

Shisui rolled his eyes. "You abuse your power so much. And people say you're the responsible one."

***Team 7***

The moment he finished speaking, the three Genin jumped away.

Sakura landed on a branch in a crouch, watching her sensei through the leaves that hid her. He just stood there in the clearing like he didn't just ask three Genin to try to kill him. Well, actually, he didn't tell them to kill him, just to come at him with the intent to kill. So did that mean he didn't mind if they landed a fatal blow on him? But if they did that, he would die and they would get in a lot of trouble with the village. Then again, he was probably thinking they won't be able to even touch him.

The girl scratched her head in annoyance. So damn confusing. Whatever. All she wanted was a bell, but how to go about it?

Peeking out of the leaves, she almost slapped her head in exasperation. The only reason she didn't was because she didn't want to cause any noise and draw attention to herself. Her idiot friend was standing right in front of Kakashi, instead of hiding. Why did she waste the last four years helping this boy train if he was just going to be an idiot and ignore it all in his first battle?

"You are a strange one, compared to your comrades." Kakashi commented.

Growling, Naruto charged at his sensei.

Ignoring the charging preteen, Kakashi reached into his back pouch, making Naruto stop. "Shinobi Battle Techniques Part 1: Taijutsu. The physical fight."

'_Hand-to-hand combat? Then why is he pulling out a weapon?' _Naruto thought confused.

Kakashi pulled an orange book out of his pouch and opened it up.

Naruto stared at him. _'A book? Is he seriously going to read in the middle of this?' _

Kakashi looked up from his book with a raised brow. "What are you waiting for? I thought you were going to make a move."

'_Isn't that just insulting?' _Sakura thought, glaring at the book in Kakashi's hands.

'_He's going to fight us while reading? He's practically calling us weak!' _Sasuke thought angrily. He was on the other side of the clearing, hiding in a tree like Sakura. Because of his angry thoughts, he missed the rest of Naruto and Kakashi's exchange, but tuned in in time to see Naruto charge at Kakashi with a punch, but the Jōnin blocked it with his hand without looking up from his book.

Naruto attempted to kick Kakashi, but the Jōnin just ducked under it. Enraged, Naruto swung a punch at him, just for his sensei to suddenly disappear.

"You shouldn't let your enemy get behind you all the time." Kakashi told him, kneeling behind the boy.

'_Naruto, you idiot.' _Sakura thought, frowning at the scene. _'He's gone back to practically brawling, even after all these years of Taijutsu practice.' _

Her eyes narrowed at the hand sign that Kakashi was making. Didn't he say it was Taijutsu? What was up with the hand sign?

"Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu." Kakashi cried and slammed his fingers into Naruto's butt. "A Thousand Years of Death!"

Sakura stared blankly at the scene. She would have loved to scream out about that, but she didn't want to give her position away. But serious, WHAT THE HELL?! Her sensei was a pervert! What did she do wrong to get a perverted sensei as her leader? And to think she thought he was a nice guy. Well, one meeting with the guy four years ago was obviously not a good judge of character. She would have to remember that for later.

Sasuke raised a brow, but otherwise, his facial expression didn't change as Naruto went flying through the air. _'These two are idiots. I mean, I knew Naruto was one, but our Sensei as well? How did he ever become a Jōnin?' _

Naruto came flying out of the pond he landed in, glaring at his sensei.

'_The idiot came back. He should have used that chance to back up and think of a plan.' _Sakura thought, glaring at the dipping wet boy.

"I will not fail here. I will pass and I will become a ninja! Believe it!" Naruto shouted.

'_You can't even land one hit on him, idiot.' _Sasuke thought.

Suddenly, seven Narutos shot out of the pond and charged at Kakashi.

Sakura's eyes widened. What was this? Her eyes narrowed to slits. Those weren't illusions of Naruto. They looked to be actual clones, but she didn't know of a Jutsu that did this. And where did Naruto learn such a thing or better yet, when?

After watching Naruto try to capture Kakashi with his clones to end with an all-out brawl between him and his clones, Sakura felt her eye twitch violently when the idiot fell for the most obvious trap! The bells lying so innocently on the ground. As Naruto ended up hanging upside down from a tree and Kakashi berated him for falling for the trap, a glint across the clearing caught her eye. Looking towards it, she caught the barest sight of black, which was completely out of place in a green forest.

'_Sasuke.'_

Without warning, multiple kunai and shuriken came flying out of the tree and slammed into Kakashi. Eyes narrowing, Sakura ignored the Kakashi flying back with multiple weapons in him and drew her own kunai. With precise aim, she sent the kunai flying at the rope tying Naruto's feet up.

Not expecting to suddenly be freed, Naruto fell face first to the ground, to only immediately be launched back into the tree when a rope wrapped around his wrist.

Sakura almost wanted to smack herself, but couldn't as she knew this one was her fault. _'Damn you, Naruto. I am putting myself in a lot of danger for you.' _Drawing another kunai, Sakura once more launched it at the rope holding Naruto.

Praying there were no more traps waiting for Naruto, Sakura jumped off her branch and into the bushes below. She couldn't stay here any longer. One kunai was bad enough, but throwing two? Now that was just plan suicide. Kakashi probably knew her precise location by now.

***Sasuke***

Irritation flashed through Sasuke when he noticed the Kakashi he attacked turn into a log. He had been played for a fool when he thought the Jōnin had actually let his guard down. As he was getting ready to move to escape from Kakashi, who probably found his position by now, he noticed a kunai come flying into the scene to release Naruto. _'Was that Sakura?' _Sasuke thought confused. Damn, if Naruto and Sakura had an alliance in this, that would leave him without a bell if they got to Kakashi first.

***Kakashi***

From his hiding place, Kakashi smirked. _'Well, isn't that interesting. Someone is helping Naruto.' _His single eye scanned the area where the kunai came from. After a moment of scanning, his eye landed on a hint of pink. _'That girl should really think about dying her hair.' _

***Sakura***

Running through the forest, Sakura's eyes roamed over everything surrounding her. She was not going to give her sensei the chance to sneak up on her and take her out.

As much as she hated to admit it, despite Kakashi's perverted idiocy, he was a formidable opponent. Just watching him screw around with Naruto, it was obvious that none of them would be able to take Kakashi on in a frontal assault. That was just plain suicide. Hopefully Naruto realized that too and has backed up now.

Who was she kidding? He was being a reckless idiot today, and they were going to have a long talk later after all of this.

Feeling a shift in the air, Sakura came to a halt in the middle of a clearing.

"That was…" Sakura trailed off as a bush rustled to her side. Looking over to the side, she saw a flash of orange before a bloody Naruto stumbled into the clearing.

"Sa-Sakura-c-chan…" Naruto said, falling to his knees. "H-help me…"

Green eyes widened in fear. Naruto was bleeding to death! "Oh–" Sakura took one step towards Naruto before freezing in her movements. No, wait. She felt a shift in the air a little bit ago. Because Kurenai made her train all her senses separately, she was sure she felt that shift. "So, it's Genjutsu this time."

Putting her hand in the correct sign, Sakura said, "Kai!"

The injured Naruto in front of her disappeared, leaving Sakura alone in the clearing.

"Shinobi Battle Technique Part 2: The Illusion Jutsu." Kakashi said.

Surprised, Sakura spun around to face her sensei, who was sitting on the ground, reading his book. She didn't even know that he was still around. Her hand flew down to her thigh and pulled out two kunai. She spun them both around in her hand before one was tossed to her left hand. Unlike Naruto and Sasuke, who both relied on Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, Sakura relied on Genjutsu, Taijutsu, and weapons. This was because she had trouble with Ninjutsu, even though her chakra control was amazing. She was never as good as Naruto and Sasuke at it. She'd have to remember that for later.

Train in Ninjutsu. Note taken.

"It's impressive you escaped from it so quickly. Kurenai has taught you well." Kakashi continued, unconcerned with the fact that a little girl had weapons and was preparing to assault him.

Sakura twitched. "Are you really just going to sit there?"

"Hmm, I'm at the good part." Kakashi said.

'_This guy is so freaking annoying! I'll teach him to underestimate me!' _Sakura thought angrily.

Glaring at her sensei, Sakura took a step back, watching for any sort of reaction from him. But he acted like he didn't see her move at all. Either he was messing around with her, was another substitution Jutsu like he got Sasuke with, or he was blind. Hmm, blind. Why did he have one of his eyes covered anyway? She knew from her sense training that he could have trained the left side of his body to make up for the fact that he didn't have his left eye. But still, that didn't make up for the lack of sight. That could very well be his weakness for her to exploit.

Sakura took another step back before suddenly pushing hard on the ground and charging at her sensei. He still didn't make a move to stop her. In fact, it wasn't until she was bringing down her kunai to slice the left side of his face that his free hand came up and caught her wrist to stop her kunai an inch from his face.

With his iron grip on her wrist, she couldn't pull free so Sakura planted her right foot firmly on the ground before swinging her left up and around to kick his neck. Kakashi's second arm wrapped around her leg and pinned it to his shoulder. With an arm and leg trapped Sakura could only stare at her sensei as he continued to read his book while keeping her leg pinned with the same arm! _'Is he mocking me? I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!' _

Twisting her wrist that Kakashi had caught, she slashed her kunai across his wrist. He reacted the way she wanted, by releasing her wrist as his blood splattered the ground and his pants. _'Well, at least I know he is real now.'_ Sakura thought, eyes narrowing. Even though he released her wrist, he still kept an iron grip on her leg. Without warning, Sakura's free leg came flying up to kick her sensei in the chin. With nothing to support her, she began to fall back, but threw her hands on the ground to save herself. While she was doing that, Kakashi released her leg to dodge her kick, giving Sakura the chance to backflip away from him.

'_She definitely isn't like Naruto.' _Kakashi thought, sparing his wrist a very brief glance.

Feet planted firmly on the ground, Sakura fell into her stance once more, eyes locked on Kakashi, who was still reading that damn book! Without an ounce of hesitation, she charged at him once more. When she started to bring her kunai down on him, he twisted around, but using her eyes to follow his movement, Sakura saw this and quickly forced her attack to stop and instead used her other arm to slice upwards with her kunai. Faster than she could anticipate, Kakashi had his own kunai out and was pushing hers down away from him.

Growling, Sakura twisted the kunai in her right hand to a throwing position and broke free from Kakashi's kunai by jumping backwards. As she was in the air, she threw the kunai in her right hand at him. But, as she expected, he just pushed it to the side and let it stab the ground next to him. While he was focused on that kunai, Sakura prepared to throw her left one at him, while at the same time pulling out a third which was thrown together with the one in her left. And yet again, both were deflected, stabbing the ground by him again.

Slamming her hands into a seal, Sakura allowed herself a small smirk. Kakashi was so distracted by his book that he didn't notice the thin chakra strings attached to her kunai that made sure they stayed around him.

"BOOM!" Sakura yelled.

An explosion rumbled around the clearing as smoke and dirt was kicked up, engulfing the two ninjas in the clearing, making them blind of each other's move. Sakura pulled out two more kunai before falling into her stance one more, ears trained for any sound. She doubted that a few explosive tags would stop a Jōnin. And without her sight, she would have to rely on her hearing.

But she heard absolutely nothing.

Confused, Sakura's brows furrowed together as she waited for the smoke to clear. She was sure that Kakashi moved after the explosion and he wasn't making a sound, which gave her no sense of direction of what to do.

And when the smoke disappeared, Sakura felt her body twitched. Not only was there no new blood on the demolished ground where Kakashi had once been standing, but her sensei had completely disappeared.

From where he was hiding in the tree, Kakashi watched the frustrated girl with interest as he tied some gauze around his wrist to stop the bleeding. _'What was that? Did she have explosive tags attached to the kunai? But I didn't see any tags on them.'_ Making a note to ask her about it later, Kakashi disappeared from the area to leave the girl to fume in anger at her loss of an opponent.

"He was reading a damn book!" Sakura growled. "How the hell did he manage to dodge in time when he was focused on that book?" That book. She had only seen it a few times in the last hour, and already it was driving her crazy. "THAT BOOK IS REALLY PISSING ME OFF!" Sakura shouted for the world to hear.

***Sasuke***

Sasuke knew Kakashi was behind him, but didn't care at the moment. He was never one to make the first move it seemed. So he would wait for Sasuke to attack. The reason why Sasuke hadn't attacked yet was because he heard a certain female scream, "THAT BOOK IS REALLY PISSING ME OFF!"

'_What did the book do to her?' _Sasuke thought, sweat dropping.

"Ready to fight, Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke twitched. _'Did he just–…oh, hell no. It's bad enough from the fangirls.'_

Multiple shuriken and kunai were flung at Kakashi without warning. The moment they pierced Kakashi, he turned into a log.

"Substitution again?" Sasuke growled.

***Sakura***

Sakura ran through the forest, frowning to herself. She was going to teach her sensei not to underestimate her! She would not be insulted again by him focusing on a book, instead of their fight! He would see that she was more then just a weak little Genin!

Jumping out of the trees she was running through, Sakura landed in a crouch in a clearing, freezing in her place when she saw Sasuke staring at her. The problem wasn't that Sasuke was staring at her, but the fact that he was only a head. She blinked.

"Sakura." Sasuke greeted.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Sakura yelled, jumping away from Sasuke.

"Sakura! Don't freak out! I'm buried." Sasuke explained hurriedly before the girl could faint.

Sakura's internal meltdown froze and she stared at her teammate. She wasn't one to normally freak out, but this was just too damn strange. "Um, how exactly did you get buried like this?" She asked.

"Kakashi." Sasuke grumbled. "I need you to help me out."

Green eyes blinked. How does one unbury a comrade when he is buried up to his head? "You don't mind a small bomb do you?" Without waiting for a reply, Sakura pulled out an explosive tag and threw it on the ground a good distance away from Sasuke so the ground would crumble around him, but he wouldn't get too injured, just a few scratches and cuts.

BOOM!

***Kakashi***

BOOM!

Kakashi looked up from his book. "Well, someone sure is bomb happy today."

***Sakura and Sasuke***

Sakura dragged the dazed Sasuke's body out of the crumbled ground by his shirt. The moment his toes touched the top of the ground, she dropped him down and prepared to run off to Kakashi.

She says prepared because before she could move, a hand wrapped around her ankle and yanked it, causing her to land roughly on the jagged ground. Not able to withhold it, a groan escaped her lips and she twisted the upper part of her body around so she could shoot a glare at the jerk that tripped her up. "What are you doing, Sasuke? There's not much time left."

Sasuke released her ankle before pushing himself up and crawling over the crumbled up ground to get to her head to kneel by it. Looking down at her, the second Uchiha heir frowned. "Surely you've realized it by now, Sakura." He said.

"Realized what?" Sakura asked, looking up at Sasuke.

"_I have an idea." Mikoto suddenly said, drawing the three males to look back at her. "When your team passes your test tomorrow, you should invite them over for dinner. I would love to get to know the two you are always complaining about." _

"_Don't you mean if they pass?" Itachi said blandly._

_*This morning*_

"_Before you leave, Sasuke, take these." Mikoto pressed two nutrient bars into Sasuke's hand. "Your teammates will be starving. You should give them these to help them in their test." _

"_Why should I?" Sasuke grumbled. _

_Mikoto whacked her son gently in the head. "They are your comrades. You don't leave them in the dust just because you don't like them. You are all leaf shinobi now." _

_Grudgingly, Sasuke put the bars into his pouch. _

Sasuke shook his head. His mother had been pushing the answer in his face the entire time. There was no possible way three Genin could beat a Jōnin and get two bells when they were fresh out of the academy.

"Sakura, we have to work as a team against Kakashi."

**A/N: Taichou- Captain **

**Sasuke's fight was pretty much the same as in the show which is why I didn't bother to write it out. **

**So, I've seen a bunch of stories where Sakura is stronger in the beginning and she figures out the answer to the test. Oh, ho, not this time. I wanted to be different and have Sasuke discover it. After all, he is slightly different in this since his clan was not massacred. And besides that, another flaw I saw in those stories where Sakura is really strong in the beginning is that they make her like she is a S-rank ninja stronger. Yeah….not happening in this story. She will be stronger then she was in the anime/manga, but I am going to try to make this realistic. She is a new Genin out of academy with no real battle experience who specializes in Taijutsu and Genjutsu. So don't expect her to win everything like in those other stories. **

**Please Review!**


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